Category: Sermons

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The Greatest Law

title slide with photo of two churches during winter

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
March 8, 2025
Mark 12:28-37

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, March 7, 2024.

Comments at the beginning of worship:

A bird cage would be one way to look at boundaries. It’s clear. You are either in or out. Inside might be seen as a prison, or a place of safety and nourishment. Outside can be free, or wild and dangerous. It’s a matter of perspective.

A bird bath also has boundaries. Otherwise, all the water would trickle away. But when we look at a bird bath, we don’t pay attention to the boundaries holding the water in the same way we do with a bird cage. Instead, we look at the center, at the ripples of the nourishing water within the bowl.

Our task in the church is to invite people to the center, where we find nourishment in Jesus Christ.[1]

Comments before reading the Scripture:

Over the past two weeks, we’ve seen several groups of challengers’ question to Jesus. Two weeks ago, it was the Sanhedrin asking for Jesus credentials. Then, last week, it was the Pharisees and Herodians asking about taxes and the Sadducees asking about the resurrection. Now Mark tells us of a question from a Scribe concerning God’s most important commandment. With the big ten and six hundred plus additional commandments, it’s a legitimate question. Listen:

Read Mark 12:28-37:

Supposedly Mark Twain once endured a talk by a long-winded Bostonian who went on and on about his plans to travel to the Holy Lands. He wanted to climb Mt. Sinai and stand on the very spot Moses received the Ten Commandments. Hearing enough of his plans, Twain suggested a better idea. “Why don’t you stay in Boston and keep the Ten Commandments?”

As followers of Jesus, we sometimes get carried away and believe what’s required of us is to do and not do certain things. Now, don’t get me wrong. Certain things are expected of us. The prophet Micah has a good summary: 


He has told you, O mortal, what is good,
    and what does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God?[2]

But we tend to ignore such wide-sweeping claims on our lives and pick and choose from a long list of the laws. First century Jews were good at this. Not only did they have the 10 Commandments, but the Torah contained another 613 laws. Of them, you had 365 negative commands: things we’re not to do. And there were 268 positive commands, things we’re supposed to do.[3] And there were many more, for the rabbis and scribes, to clarify, sometimes created additional ideas of what to do and not do. 

The law became overwhelming. Everyone had their favorites. We’re no different. Often, we pick and choose. Sadly, we often see the most serious laws as those we are less likely to break. 

This past week, the Presbytery of the Peaks met. Preaching for the Presbytery was Dr. Rodney Sadler, a Black Baptist who teaches at Union Seminary.[4] Since February is Black History Month, it had been arranged for him to preach. However, we had a snow and ice that day in February, so they postponed the presbytery meeting to March. Thankfully, he was able to rearrange his schedule. 

Sadler made an interesting point about two sins so many churches get upset over: abortion and homosexuality. He pointed out that Jesus never addressed either one, which is true. Other places in scripture mentions them, but not Jesus during his ministry. Sadler even admitted his own concerns over such issues, especially abortion. And then he made this point. Those churches who primarily focuses on these two sins as the most egregious, focus on sins of which white heterosexual males don’t struggle. He hit home. 

Again, as I have reiterated over and over, God’s law serves as a boundary. Within the law, we can have abundant life. Outside of it, we’re going to find ourselves struggling. So, while the law is important, we must be careful. Danger arises when we pick and chose from God’s commandments and then use our favorite laws (often ones we don’t struggle with) as a measuring stick to judge others. It’s important to understand that the law wasn’t given for us to oppress or judge our neighbors. The person in the mirror is the only ones we should judge. 

I wonder if Jesus had enough of the “law?” After all, he was often challenged for breaking it. Remember back early in Mark, Jesus had to defend his disciples for snacking on grain while they walked on the Sabbath. That was followed up by him healing a man on the Sabbath.[5] In our passage this morning, Jesus simplifies things a bit, by reducing the list from 613 to 2: the love of God and the love of neighbor. 

It appears the previous debate between the Sadducees and Jesus may have caught this scribe’s attention. Mark tells us the scribe overheard them talking. He wasn’t sent to trap Jesus. Unlike the last three questions, his question appears to be out of a genuine curiosity. And it’s legitimate, for people are concerned over the meaning of the law. 

Jesus then quotes a familiar phrase, known as the “Shema” or “Hear!”, which is a reciting of Deuteronomy 6:4-5. “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one; you shall love the Lord your God with all heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” While there are parallel passages to this in Matthew and Luke, only Mark quotes the entire verse.[6]

This commandment focuses on attitude. Jesus didn’t quote from moral law. There’s no “thou shalt not do this or that. Nor is there even a prohibition against idolatry,[7] of which the first several commandments focus on.[8]

Then Jesus adds a second command, “love your neighbor as yourself.”

There is nothing new in what Jesus says. In the synagogue of Jesus’ day as well as in the morning and evening prayers of the faithful, the Shema or the first half of Jesus’ commandment was recited.[9]

Some contemporary teachers had even reduced all the commandments to “love your neighbor as yourself.”[10] However, their view of a “neighbor” could be limited. We see this in the parallel passage found in Luke’s gospel. There, Jesus is asked a follow up question, “Who is my neighbor.” Jesus then tells the parable of the Good Samaritan, which emphasizes that our neighbors aren’t just those whom we share a fence line.[11]

Jesus grounds the love of God and the love of neighbor-as-self for a reason. Love depends on our belief and faith in God. God loves us first, as seen through the act of creation and further demonstrated at the cross. At the cross, we see God’s willingness to do what it takes to reach us, to be in a relationship with his fallen creation. And because God loves us and accepts us for who we are, we’re freed to accept ourselves for who we are. If we love ourselves for any other reason, we risk idolatry. Yet, we need a healthy sense of self to reach out to others. 

Notice also that Jesus doesn’t just say, “Love God.” He qualifies it. We love with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength.” In other words, we love in all we do whether feeling, praying, thinking, or working. In all we do, we’re to bring glory to God.

Jesus may have simplified the law by reducing them from 613 to 2, but this great commandment may be more difficult to obey than all the laws. It involves a reorientation of our lives. Instead of putting ourselves first, we put God first in all we do. And we elevate others, for we’re to love them as well as we love ourselves.  

The Scribe who asked the question appears pleased with Jesus’ answer and praises our Savior. Jesus tells him he’s not far from the kingdom of God. This is the one positive encounter with a scribe in Mark’s gospel.[12] Those who witness this conversation must have also been impressed, for no one else asked Jesus a question.

Our passage ends with one last question, this one asked by Jesus. This question has to do with the scribes, the teacher of the law, claiming that the Messiah would be the son of David. Jesus asks how this can be since David in the Psalms claimed the Messiah to be Lord and over even him.[13] Like the other questions, this was also a trick question, and no one answers. But Jesus impresses the crowd who watches and listens. 

Loving God and our neighbors keeps us in line. In Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis points out that the essential Christian vice and utmost evil is pride. While Jesus doesn’t say the avoidance of pride is the greatest law, I think Lewis and Jesus are not far apart. Lewis writes, “Unchastity, anger, greed, drunkenness, and all that, are mere fleabites in comparison: it was through pride that the devil became the devil; pride leads to every other vice; it is the complete anti-God state of mind.”[14]

But if we love God and our neighbor, we check our pride. Our lives are not about bringing us glory but giving God glory through our love for the divine and our care for those whom God created. In this manner, we join with God in his redemptive work. We seek God’s vision, not our own.  And we’re not far from what God said through the prophet Micah: 

What does the Lord require of you
but to do justice and to love kindness
    and to walk humbly with your God? Amen.

[1] This illustration adapted from Jack Rogers, Claiming the Center: Churches and Conflicting World Views (Louisville, KY: WJKP, 1995). 

[2] Micah 6:8.

[3] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2002), 370. n

[4] Dr. Rodney Sadler, “That Ain’t Jesus,” a sermon o Matthew 12:33-35, 15:31-40. The sermon was preached on March 6, 2025 at the Presbytery of the Peaks meeting at Quaker Memorial Presbyterian Church in Lynchburg. 

[5] Mark 2:23-3:6.  See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/03/10/the-plot-against-jesus/ and https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/03/03/jesus-and-the-law-concerning-fasting-and-the-sabbath/

[6] Matthew 22:34ff and Luke 10:25ff leave off “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.”

[7] Douglas R. A. Hare, Mark: Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville, WJKP, 1996), 158. 

[8] The first three of the 10 commandments say: no other gods, no graven images, and no misuse of God’s name. All of these are to prohibit idolatry. 

[9] Edwards, 371. 

[10] This was Hillel the Elder (40 BC-10 AD).  William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), 432.

[11] Luke 10:25-37. 

[12] Edwards, 369. 

[13] Psalm 110:1. 

[14] The Lewis quote from Norman Shawchuck, A Guide to Prayer (Nashville, TN: Upper Room Books,  ), 125-127. 

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Opposition to Jesus Grows

Title slide with photo of churches in winter

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
March 2, 2025
Mark 12:13-27

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, February 28, 2025

At the beginning of the service[1]:
Two weeks ago, those of us who live and own property in Carroll County received a real estate reassessment. I’m not sure about Patrick County, but Virginia law requires all counties to reevaluate real estate property values every five years. So, if you’re in another county and didn’t get such a statement, don’t worry, your time will come. 

There has been a lot of gashing of teeth and complaining about the reassessments. County wide, property values are up 40-some percent and many of us have seen valuations up by 50 or 60 percent. If you think it’s too high, you can appeal. I doubt anyone will say anything if they think theirs is too low.

We’re going to talk about paying taxes and God’s control today. I am sad to inform you that I can’t give a theological reason not to pay taxes. But if you feel your evaluation is high, you have the right appeal. Hopefully, what we pay in taxes will be used to enhance our communities and support things which makes our common life more productive and pleasant. 

Before reading the Scripture:
We’re continuing through Mark’s gospel. As I mentioned last week, opposition to Jesus increases as we move toward his arrest. Today, we’ll see Jesus challenged with the second and third of four questions. The first question, which we heard about last week, had to do with his authority. He now gets bombarded by different groups of Jews, who attempt to trick Jesus into incriminating himself. The second and third questions have to do with paying taxes and the resurrection.  

We see an odd group of folks come at Jesus. The question as to taxes involves the Pharisees and the Herodians. The latter group supported Roman control over Palestine. Normally, we’d see these groups on opposite side of issues. Of course, nobody likes paying taxes. But the Pharisees disliked it for theological reasons while the Herodians saw it as a necessary evil which allows them to enjoy the things Rome supports.[2] Earlier in Mark’s gospel, we see the two dissimilar groups joining together against Jesus.[3]

The next question which relates to the resurrection is brought about by the Sadducees, a group who denied the resurrection. The Pharisees believed in it, but they’re not the one who asked this question. The questions and those who ask them are ironic. It’s almost like someone set up several groups of people to ask Jesus questions. But our Savior answers them in a way that sends the questioners off shaking their heads. 

Read Mark 12:13-27
Have you had a salesperson play on your emotions to get you to buy their product? The life insurance salesperson who speaks about how desperate your family will be when you die. Or maybe a car salesperson trying to get you to move up to a nicer vehicle than your budget allows, telling you how impressive you’d be riding in the fancier car. I’m sure we’ve all been there. 

Not long after moving here, we had our HVAC system checked. The technician suggested the thing was rusting away and leaking, and I should replace it before winter. A few days later the company’s owner came to give me a quote. I had already called around, so I knew about how much a system should cost. So, when he handed me his quote, I was shocked. It was well over twice what I expected. 

He tried to tell me all the reasons they were the best company and pressure me into signing a contact with offerings such as a yearly maintenance check, but only if I signed that day.

When he realized I was not buying his line, he changed tactics. He told me how all the other HVAC companies hire guys trained in prison. He also implied that many of these workers were people of color. Then he asked what I’d think if one of them came into my house and attacked my family. I’d had enough. I told him to leave. 

The next person who came to give me a quote for a new HVAC system asked why I thought I needed a new system. I told him I’d been told it needed some expensive freon and was rusting out. He looked at the system, said the rust was to be expected, and wasn’t bad. He then asked if he could test it. After hooking up gauges, he shook his head. “Your system is fine,” he said, “And if you put anymore freon in it, you’ll blow it up.” We’re still using the same system and have yet to add freon. It has lasted the past five winters. 

When a wire shorted out, I called the guy who said I didn’t need a new system. He isolated the problem and quickly fix it.  

Honesty and good service are traits which serve us well. When someone tries to butter you up or use dishonest techniques, hold on to your wallet and run. 

Jesus must have known when the Pharisees and Herodians showed up together, something was up. And then they butter him up with praise. I’m sure Jesus just listened, waiting for the hook. Sure enough, they then asked: “Should we pay taxes to the emperor?” 

This put Jesus in a bind. If he says yes, the people who despise taxes will think Jesus sold them out. Furthermore, the Roman taxes had to be paid with Roman coins, the denarius,[4] which the Pharisees and strict Jews considered idolatrous. The coins went against a strict interpretation of the commandment prohibiting graven images.[5] Furthermore, the inscription around the emperor’s head read “Tiberius Caesar Augustus, Son of the Divine Augustus.”[6]  In other words, it indicated the divinity of the Caesars, which flew in the face of monotheistic Jews. 

On the other hand, if Jesus said, “no, you shouldn’t pay taxes,” the authorities would have a reason to arrest Jesus. “Inciting the crowds against Rome,” would be the charge. It’s a no-win situation. 

But Jesus is clever. “Let me see a coin,” he said. And they produced one, which is telling since they considered the coin idolatrous. When Jesus said, “give to the emperor the things that are his, and to God the things that are God’s,” the questioners are left speechless.  

Jesus acknowledges the legitimacy of human government.[7] We shouldn’t forget that all governments, like all human institutions, are sinful. Yet, scripture understands they’re necessary and, as Paul reminds us, deserve our respect.[8] Jesus does not encourage an artificial separation of life into the secular and sacred, as some have suggested.[9] Instead, if we’re to acknowledge that all belongs to God, that includes even what’s the emperors. The earth and those who live in it are the Lord’s.[10]

We don’t know if the Sadducees who next approach Jesus were waiting to see what happened to the Pharisees and Herodians, or if it was later in the same day or another day. But Mark presents these events as if they happened in rapid succession. 

 Mark first informs us the Sadducees don’t believe in the resurrection, then tells the scenario which they present to Jesus. We also know that the Sadducees didn’t believe in angels and demons in addition to no afterlife.[11] They base their question on the laws of Moses, which said that if a woman dies without children, her brother-in-law should marry her.[12] In this case, the woman is terribly unlucky with husbands, because every brother she marries dies without her having children. 

Their question for Jesus, “who’s the woman’s husband in the life to come since she’s had seven husbands on earth?”

The Sadducees story drips with irony. They don’t even believe in the resurrection, yet they are trying to trap Jesus concerning his beliefs. Jesus responds harshly, telling them they don’t know scripture, nor do they understand the power of God. He suggests that in the life to come, we’ll be more like angels, of which the Sadducees also didn’t believe in. 

Paul, in his great chapter on the resurrection in 1st Corinthians, speaks of our earthly bodies as perishable seeds, but the resurrected body as imperishable. Just as we don’t know for sure what a seed will produce until it planted in the ground and sprouts, it’s not for us to fully understand what our resurrection life will be like.[13]  

Jesus concludes his response by drawing on the name God gave Moses to use when he addressed the Hebrews in slavery. “I am the God of Abraham, of Issac, and of Jacob.” God didn’t say, “I was.” The use of the present tense is important for it implies that the patriarchs of the Jewish people are not dead and forgotten. 

In this second story, Jesus refuses to let the people pin God into a vision from their own minds. God’s freedom and ability are beyond our minds to comprehend. We tend to think of the afterlife in terms which we know from this life. We expect our bodies and families continuing as we have experienced them. But Jesus’ response reminds us there is a lot we don’t know. We are called to walk by faith, and that includes into the life to come. 

Furthermore, we shouldn’t be surprised when others rise up against us. Jesus faced enemies in his ministry, and it won’t be any different for us. Hold on to the faith and keep your eyes on Jesus.

Today’s stories remind us of God’s sovereignty over our earthly lives. Yes, we’re to live on earth and abide by laws, if they don’t contradict God’s law. And we are to live by faith, trusting the future to the one who created and redeemed us. Amen. 

[1] I plan to omit the opening section at Mayberry to shorten the service because the congregation celebrates communion on the first Sunday of the month.

[2] William L. Lane, The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1974), 423.

[3] Mark 3:6. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/03/10/the-plot-against-jesus/

[4] Lane, 424.

[5] Exodus 20:4. 

[6] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 363. 

[7] Edwards, 363.

[8] Romans 13:1. 

[9] Douglas R. A. Hare, Mark: Westminster Bible Companion (Louisville, KY: WJK Press, 1997), 154. 

[10] Psalms 24:1. 

[11] Edwards, 365. 

[12] Deuteronomy 25:5-10. 

[13] 1 Corinthians 15:35-42. 

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We’re God’s Tenants

title slide with photo of two churches

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
Mark 11:27-12:12
February 23, 2025

Sermon recorded at Bluemont Church on Friday, February 21, 2025

At the beginning of worship:

Cover of Linda Flower's book, "Throwed Away"

“’Throwed away’ is an expression peculiar to eastern North Carolina. If a piece of land or a person or a stretch along a highway looks ‘throwed away,’ it can be in no worse shape,” writes Linda Flowers in the preface to her book titled, Throwed Away.“Fields left unattended and overcome with cockleburs are ‘throwed away.’ Ramshackly houses with boarded-up windows and rotten porches, or country stores that have bitten the dust are ‘throwed away.’

Flowers grew up in Faison, North Carolina toward the end of the share-cropping era. Her family share cropped. In 1968, she left the state for graduate school in Ohio and later New York. When she returned in 1980, the change startled her. 

The end of tenant farming is generally thought to have occurred in the mid to late 1960s, as machinery reduced the number of hands needed on farms. Of course, some continued afterwards, but the economy of sharecropping was on its way out. A few sharecroppers gained enough cash to buy their own land, but most moved into factories and other forms of labor. 

Flowers, in her book, set out to recapture the world of her youth which she describes in this manner. “At its best, tenantry was exploitative; at its worst, it was a kind of slavery.”[1] Such farming practices weren’t new. As we’ll see today, they existed in Jesus’ day. 

Before reading the Scripture:
We’re back in Mark’s gospel, picking up where I left off in November. If you remember, during Advent I jumped ahead and we looked at the 13th Chapter of Mark, which pertains to Jesus’ 2nd Coming. That’s an Advent topic. Today, our text begins with Mark 11:27. From here through the end of the12th chapter of Mark, we see the conflict around Jesus’ ministry intensify. Various groups try to trick him or cause him to incriminate himself. But Jesus proves to be up for the challenge.  

The economic world of Palestine in the first century was one of poor tenant farmers who slaved to raise crops and then had to give a significant portion of their income to the absentee owners.[2] This was a system like what went on after Civil War in the South, where those without land struggled and worked the lands of those owned by former plantation owners who had depended on slaves. 

In a way, a tenant farmer was just a step or two above a slave. He could leave, but where could he go? We know Jesus often takes the plight of the downtrodden. In both first century Palestine and in the South from the 1860s until the 1960s, tenant farmers were mostly downtrodden. But in the parable Jesus tells, he flips the story. Here, the owner of the land is generous. The tenants are evil. 

Our passage begins with Jesus’ third visit to Jerusalem after his arrival on the day we refer to as Palm Sunday. This would be Tuesday of Holy Week. It appears Jesus left the city each night and stayed in Bethany, where perhaps the lodging was cheaper.  The next morning, he came back to the city and headed for the temple.

Read Mark 11:27-12:12
Early in Mark’s gospel, we have the story of Jesus in the synagogue in Capernaum, which became the center of his Galilean ministry. There, Jesus impressed the people with his authority. His speech was beyond anything they’d heard from the scribes.

He followed this up with his authority over evil spirits.[3] In that early encounter, the question was raised as to where Jesus obtained his authority.

Now that we’re into Jesus’ last week of his earthly ministry, we learn the question over Jesus’ authority continues to linger. Early in Mark’s gospel, the freshness of his teachings caused his popularity to rise. He comes to Jerusalem as a popular man. Those who held the authority at the temple fear him. 

This is the third day in a row that Jesus enters Jerusalem. But it’s not the city itself which interests him, it’s the temple. He immediately heads for the temple which stands high over the city, as he has done of the previous two days.[4]

We can imagine Jesus and the some of the disciples walking along the massive courtyards and porticos around the temple. A group of religious leaders approach him: chief priests, scribes, and elders. These three groups made up the Sanhedrin, leaders of the faith who also handled the precarious relationship with Rome.[5]  

It was probably just a representative group of the Sanhedrin who approached Jesus as the entire body consisted of seventy-one members.[6] They know Jesus has been making a stir around Jerusalem from his entry parade[7] to his overturning tables and chasing out livestock the day before.[8] So, they ask Jesus by what authority does he do such things. 

Jesus doesn’t give a direct answer. If he said, “my Father in heaven,” not only would they probably not accepted it, but they may also have used it as a reason to charge Jesus with blasphemy. Instead, Jesus asks a question. Questioning back and forth was a standard tactic in debates of the day.[9]

Jesus’ question as to the authority of John the Baptist, places the Sanhedrin in a bind. If they say John’s authority came from heaven, Jesus could pin them down as to why they didn’t believe John. And if they say his authority was human, the people who see John as a prophet might revolt. So, the leaders’ refusal to answer Jesus’ question allows him not to answer theirs. 

I should point out that Mark understands Jesus’ fate is tied to John’s fate.[10] Both will give their lives to stand up for their principles. 

This sets the stage for Jesus to tell the last major parable of his ministry recorded by Mark, the Parable of the Wicked Tenants.[11]Jesus’ familiarity with the Prophet Isaiah can be seen in this parable which parallels the prophet’s “Song of the Unfruitful Vineyard.”[12] In both cases, the owner plants a vineyard, encloses it, builds a tower and winepress. 

In Isaiah, the story hinges around the vineyard yielding only sour wine. Think vinegar. The owner decides to do away with the vineyard, which the prophet links to God punishing Israel for its lack of faith.  

Jesus’ parable starts the same way with a man planting a vineyard, putting a fence around it and building a tower and winepress. I’m sure the Jewish authorities who heard the beginning of Jesus’ story immediately recalled Isaiah’s song. They knew where Jesus was going, that he was addressing them. 

But then Jesus’ story takes a dramatic shift from Isaiah. In both cases, the owner of the vineyard represents God. But in Jesus’ story, instead of the vineyard producing a bad crop, the owner of the vineyard relocates to a foreign land. Think heaven. He hands his farm over to tenant farmers. 

At the time of the crop, the owner sends back a slave to collect the owner’s share of the crop. But instead of paying up, the tenants beat up the slave and send him back to the owner limping and bruised. He sends others, but the same thing happens. The representatives of the owner are beaten or killed. 

Finally, the man sends his son, thinking they will honor him. That, of course, doesn’t happen. The owner provides the tenants multiple opportunities to keep up their end of the bargain. Seeing the son who is the heir to the property, they decide to kill him. Perhaps they think the owner has died and, with the son out of the way, they can claim the property for themselves. Not only do they murder the son, but they also disrespect the body by throwing it out to decay. Of course, the owner isn’t dead and will come and destroy those tenants. 

Jesus concludes with a verse from the 118th Psalm, of the rejected stone becoming the cornerstone.[13]

Mark tells us the religious leaders realize the parable’s intention. They desire to do away with Jesus but are afraid of the crowd. However, not only is this parable about them, who have ignored the prophets call, it’s also about Jesus. He’s the son who represents the father. He’s the son, the rejected one, who will become the cornerstone in the new covenant God establishes with his people. 

As I pointed out before reading the passage, Jesus turns this story its head. Instead of siding with the tenants, he portrays them with wicked hearts. Sin doesn’t reside in just one class of people. Rich and poor are equally guilty. 

I’m sure the religious leaders didn’t want to see themselves as tenants. They think of themselves as leaders. Yet, they’re still responsible to God. In fact, we’re all tenants on God’s good earth. A steward is another way of describing our position. God gives us talents and the good earth. We only have possession of it for a short period of time. Sooner or later, we must give it back. Do we make good use of God’s gift?

As the Psalmist proclaims so elegantly, “The earth is the Lord’s and all that is in it, the world, and those who live in it.”[14] We must always remember who is in charge; our allegiance belongs to God. As tenants, we’re to be doing the work of the owner.

Another thing Mark confirms about Jesus is that the Savior discouraged any radical attempt to forcefully bring about the kingdom. Jesus discourages taking up arms against Rome.[15] In the parable, Jesus points out that the rulers (the wicked tenants) are out for their own well-being, not representing God.[16]

Mark paints a darkening picture of forces gathering around Jesus. In two days, the “Son” will be arrested in the garden. The following day he will be killed outside the city walls. The peaceful man who devoted his ministry to doing good and teaching kindness is about to live into the parable he told. Mark leaves it to his readers to decide which side we’ll be on.  Amen. 

[1] Linda Flowers, Throwed Away: Failures of Progress in Eastern North Carolina (Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 1990), 64. 

[2] James R. Edwards, The Gospel According to Mark (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2002), 354-356; Morna D. Hooker, The Gospel According to Saint Mark (1991, Hendrickson Publishers, 1997), 274; and William L. Lane, The New International Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospel of Mark (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1974), 416. 

[3] Mark 1:21-28. See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/01/21/jesus-in-the-synagogue/

[4] Mark 11:11 and 15. 

[5] Edwards, 350. 

[6] Edwards, 350.

[7] Mark 11:1-11, https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/11/17/7549/

[8] Mark 11:15-19, https://fromarockyhillside.com/2024/11/24/what-does-jesus-have-against-fig-trees/

[9] Hooker, 271, Edwards, 351.

[10] Hooker, 272. 

[11] Edwards, 354.

[12] Isaiah 5:1ff. 

[13] Psalm 118:22-23. This Psalm was also used two days earlier as Jesus’ entered Jerusalem. See Mark 11:9-10.

[14] Psalm 24:1

[15] This will be made even more clear a few chapters later at his arrest. See Mark 14:47. 

[16] Brian K. Blount, Go Preach! Mark’s Kingdom Message and the Black Church Today (Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books, 1998), 82-83. 

Pastoral Prayer for today

20250223 Pastoral Prayer

We gather after another cold week, giving thanks for a warm building and warming weather. We gather with concerns in minds and hearts. Will we have enough to get by in retirement? Will we still have medical care? Will we endure another pandemic, bird flu or something else. We gather, unsure about the future, but your Son and our Lord and Savior, tells us not to worry. We’re to trust you, for whatever happens, we’re in your hands. So, we come became you, gathered as your people, turning our burdens to you while we give you thanks for your faithfulness in the past. And we trust that as you’ve proven your faithfulness in the past, you will continue to be faithful today, and in the days to come. Regardless as to what happens, remind us of your presence and help us to seek what is right in your eyes. 

Almighty God, we confess we have made a mess of your good earth. There are not only rumors of wars, but there are wars.  We are shocked to learn of 70 Christians beheaded in the Democratic Republic of Congo, yet we feel safe because that’s so far away. We are sad to hear of the civilians suffering in Ukraine, those in Gaza whose lives have been destroyed, and the Israelis who have died, but again that all seems so far away. And we’re heartbroken when we hear about violence on the streets or in our homes. You have created us all in your image. Help us to work toward breaking the chain of violence, to seek reconciliation, and to do the hard work of loving one another. 

Be with those who are poor, those who suffer from bondage to sin and addictions, as well as to those who are in prison. Show us how to make a difference in our world, even if it is in just one life. Give comfort to those in grief over the death of loved ones. Be with the sick… 

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Trusting God or Humanity?

title slide with a winter snowy photo of the two churches where this sermon will be delivered

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
February 16, 2025
Jeremiah 17:1-13 (14-18)

This sermon was recorded at Mayberry Church on Saturday, February 15, 2025.

At the beginning of worship: 

Delivered to my inbox every day is a new word. I generally look at the word. Often, I don’t know the word, I’ll look at the meaning realize it’s so obscure  I’ll never use it. But this week, one of the words made me ponder the passage I’m preaching on today. Actually, it’s two words, Amor Propre. Rousseau, the 17thCentury French philosopher, coined the term which means “self-love,” especially a love which comes from the adoration of others who make us feel important.[1] Now that I used it, I’ll never use it again.

As followers of Jesus, the only one who truly matters and provides us with self-worth is God. Seeking such approval from everyone else, to quote Jeremiah, is to trust in mere mortals, as we turn away from the Lord. 

Before reading the scripture: 

Since Christmas, I’ve been preaching from the Old Testament reading from the lectionary. This will be the last Sunday doing this. Next week, God willing, I’ll return to Mark’s gospel. Hopefully, we’ll finish up Mark between then and Palm Sunday. While I really like building upon the previous week’s passage as I preach through a book, it’s also refreshing to occasionally focus on odd passages as I’ve done for the past month. 

Today, we’re back in Jeremiah. The lectionary only calls for the reading from the heart of this passage, verses 5 through 10. That cuts out a good deal of the passage’s power. I am going to read the entire section which starts with verse 1 and goes through verse 18. But I’ll save the last 5 verses for the prayer at the end of the sermon. 

In some ways, this is an unusual section for Jeremiah. Unlike many other places, we do not hear from Jeremiah in first person, until his prayer at the end. Instead, this section begins with God speaking through the prophet, indicting Judah. Then, we hear a series of proverbs which start off sounding like Psalm 1. Many scholars think that instead of Jeremiah writing these himself, he borrowed from traditional proverbs.[2] Kind of like how we might quote Ben Franklin or Mark Twain. In the Psalm and in verses 5 to 8, two trees are used as a metaphor of those who place their trust in God’s hands and those who trust human hands. Jeremiah continues by reflecting on the human heart and giving a warning against unearned gains. 

All this sounds kind of depressing, doesn’t it. But like a good lament, our passage focuses back on God and the hope offered to those who trust in God. Finally, I’ll read the ending of the passage at the end of the sermon, as a prayer. There, we’ll hear Jeremiah’s plea for relief.  Let’s now listen to this passage. 

Read Jeremiah 17:1-13

Why do humans behave so badly? I wonder if Jeremiah asked this question. After all, he’s addressing a people guilty of forsaking their first love, the God in whom they have made a covenant to worship, honor, and obey in exchange for prosperity and protection. 

This passage opens with an indictment. This sounds like a judge sentencing a guilty criminal. Judah’s sin has been engraved with a diamond pointed chisel onto granite hearts and on the horns of their altars. They are guilty. Of course, the altars are not the altar to God in the temple in Jerusalem, but altars and scared poles placed on high hills honoring the ancient Canaanite deities: Baal and Ashera.[3] Such idolatry breaks their covenant with God. 

The deal was that if they placed their trust in God, the Lord would watch out for them and protect them. But they’ve broken this trust. We’re also often reminded in the Old Testament of God’s jealously.[4] We see God’s jealously expressed here. God responds to their lack of trust by giving their enemies their treasures and allowing the people to once again be slaves. 

In verse five, God identifies the people’s sin, in addition to idolatry, as trusting in themselves and in other humans. The people may look to a powerful Rambo-like character or see the shiny spears and shields of their army in formation and think they’re safe. But that’s not safety, God says. For they’ve turned their hearts from the Lord. Human power is like a shrub in the desert. 

Here, the wording of the indictment echoes Psalm 1, which contrasts the faithful and wicked as two different trees. The Psalm first highlights those who do not follow the path of the wicked. Comparing them to trees planted by streams of water, they thrive. The wicked are like chaff which cannot withstand the wind and the judgment which comes upon it. 

In Jeremiah, unlike Psalm 1, the wicked are dealt with first. The cursed are those who trust in human strength. They’re like a shrub in the desert. John Calvin, who uses the metaphor of God as the fountain of all that’s good,[5] as we see in this passage, suggests that this particular shrub spoken of by Jeremiah, appears alive but its roots have dried up. Unable to drink from God’s fountain, Judah waits for justice.[6]

On the contrast are the blessed, those who trust in the Lord. Like a tree by a stream, they thrive. Because they have deep roots, they don’t even fear drought or heat, for they can tap into life-giving water. 

Notice that for both metaphorical trees, trouble will come. They’ll be hot winds and droughts. The one who doesn’t trust in God have no roots to sustain life when trouble arises. The one does place his or her trust in God will survive the trials. 

Next, our passage speaks of the devious and perverse hearts. As I spoke at the beginning of last week’s service, we live in a world which often confuses feelings and actions.[7] We probably don’t feel our hearts are devious and perverse. This may sound harsh. But it reflects a realization that we often look to our own well-being instead of trusting in God to do what is right. 

To quote Calvin again, the heart is a perpetual factory of idols.[8]We find it easier to trust in ourselves or those who promise protection. We with our own strength, or those we idolize, may deliver in the short run. But we’ll so give up, or our contract with others will require us to compromise our morals. Sooner or later, such situations will fail us. 

Our passage asks the rhetorical question as to who can understand the human heart. Then it answers itself, reminding us that God searches both our hearts and minds, rewarding us for the fruits of what we do and think. We must remember that while in this life, evil may seem to go unpunished, God sees and there is a life to come. We may not always see the consequences, but we worship a God of justice. 

In the next proverb, we catch glimpse of such justice in this world. A partridge warms and hatches an egg it did not lay. To say it in another way, it hatched an egg that did not belong to it. Obviously, it would not be another partridge and as it grows would seek out its own family, abandoning the partridge. This observation from the natural world is linked to those who amass wealth unjustly. 

After providing these bits of wisdom, our song shifts focus to God, reminding those who hear these words of the danger of ignoring God, who is the fountain of living water. 

Our hope is with the Lord. Jeremiah understood this as we see in his prayer at the end of this passage. I will close reading verses 14 to 18. Consider it a prayer not just for the prophet, but for all of us. For we need to turn from that which is mortal and center our lives in God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ. 

Let me warn you that the ending of this prayer may seem harsh. We must remember that Jeremiah was a persecuted man and those persecuting him were guilty of not trusting in God, but in their own strength. And they used their strength to torment Jeremiah. The prophet, trusting in God’s justice, demands it and asks that he be spared. Let us pray with Jeremiah: 


Heal me, O Lord, and I shall be healed;
    save me, and I shall be saved,
    for you are my praise.
 See how they say to me,
    “Where is the word of the Lord?
    Let it come!”

 But I have not run away from being a shepherd in your service,
    nor have I desired the fatal day.
You know what came from my lips;
    it was before your face.
Do not become a terror to me;
    you are my refuge in the day of disaster;
Let my persecutors be shamed,
    but do not let me be shamed;
let them be dismayed,
    but do not let me be dismayed;
bring on them the day of disaster;
    destroy them with double destruction!  Amen. 

[1] https://worddaily.com/words/Amour-Propre/

[2] R. E. Clements, Jeremiah: Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1988), 107. 

[3] Clements, 105.

[4] See Exodus 20:5, 34:14 and Deuteronomy 4:24, 5:9, 6:15. See also Joshua 24:19. 

[5] See B. A. Gerrish, Grace and Gratitude: The Eucharistic Theology of John Calvin (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1993), especially chapter 2. 

[6] John Calvin, Commentary on Jeremiah and Lamentations, vol 1 (Grand Rapids, Baker, 1979), 351-352.  As quoted by Walter Brueggemann, Jeremiah 1-25, To Pluck Up, to Tear Down (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1988), 151. 

[7] https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/02/09/isaiahs-tough-message/

[8] John Calvin, Institute of the Christian Religion, 1.11.8.

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Isaiah’s Tough Message

Title slide with photos of the two churches where the sermon was preached along with photos from the Treasure Hill Mining District in Nevada (which was mentioned in the sermon).

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry & Bluemont Churches
February 9, 2025
Isaiah 6:1-13

Sermon recorded at Bluemont on Friday, February 7, 2024

Comments at the beginning of worship: 
Two weeks ago, I used questions from the Heidelberg Catechism for our Profession of Faith. Some of you had trouble with the 4thquestion, which asks if you can live up to God’s law perfectly. The given answer is: “No, I have a natural tendency to hate God and my neighbor.” Several people questioned this, saying they don’t hate God or neighbor. Perhaps I should explain. 

First, the catechism comes from the 16th Century. While it may be expressed in a different manner today, the hateful actions toward God or neighbor have nothing to do with how we feel about God or our neighbor. Since the 16th Century, we’ve gone through the romantic era which confused feelings and actions. When we causally say, “I love you,” we’re expressing a feeling. We truly express love (and hate) in action. 

When we sin against God or another person, we show hate. We may not have hateful feelings, but we show contempt for them. Likewise, our love for God and neighbor needs to be more than some warm internal feeling. Instead, we show love by working for the wellbeing of the beloved. It’s become somewhat of a cliché, but love is a verb. I suggest the same goes for hate. 

Essentially, what this question drives at is a deep understanding that we are sinners who first look out for ourselves. As Paul said, “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.”[1] Because of this, confession is required. As I pointed out in my last sermon from Psalm 19, we should confess even to those sins we don’t realize we commit. Likewise, as we’re going to see in today’s sermon, we confess not just for individual sins we’ve committed, but those sins which come from the society in which we live and benefit. 

I hope this clears things up. If not, let me know and I’ll be glad to discuss it further. Regardless of the fourth question, I commend the Heidelberg Catechism to you. It opens with the most beautiful question, “What is your only comfort in life and in death?” The answer begins: “That I am not my own, but belong, body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ.”[2] You can’t go wrong with such thinking. 

Before reading the Scriptures:
As I’ve been doing since Christmas, I’m preaching on the Old Testament lectionary passages. Today, we’ll look at the sixth chapter of Isaiah. I have preached on this passage here once before, using it to discuss worship.[3] The flow of Reformed and Presbyterian worship follows this passage. We are called into God’s presence and sing God’s praises. God holiness reminds us of our need to confess our sin. So, we confess and find forgiveness which allows us to hear and respond to God’s call. 

But this passage contains more insight than just worship, as we’ll see this morning. Not only is this Isaiah’s prophetic call, but we also learn about God and our relationship to the Almighty.  And we’re reminded there are times before we can fully experience hope, consequences must be faced. 

This passage can be broken up into parts. I’m breaking it into two parts: Isaiah’s encounter with God and the word Isaiah takes back to God’s people.[4] The lectionary doesn’t include the entire chapter, allowing the preacher to stop after Isaiah’s responds to God’s call with “Here I am, Lord, send me.”[5] But to cut this passage short, while it may make us feel better, keeps us from understanding it’s message. 

Isaiah willingly volunteers to be God’s messenger. But he receives a tough message to take to the people. Unlike Jeremiah, who often shares his personal feelings with his readers, Isaiah keeps his cards close to the chest.[6] I wonder if, looking back, Isaiah questioned his willingness to volunteer? However, as the prophet understood, we’re to be faithful to God, which requires us to accept and struggle with the entirety of the Word. Doing so, we learn it’s not about us, but about God. 

Read Isaiah 6:1-13:
It was the year Uzziah died. We often date things from significant transitions which include the death of important people. You know, the Hebrew people didn’t have a lot of great kings, but Uzziah was better than most.[7] At least he wasn’t totally rogue.  

Death reminds us there can be no going back. History marches on. Sooner or later none of us will be here. Our time, like Uzziah, like Isaiah, will have passed. We should ask ourselves if we’re making the best of the time we’re given.

During this year after Uzziah’s death, Isaiah finds himself in the temple and receives a vision. God sits on the throne high above the temple. It requires only the hem of God’s robe to fill the temple. From this description, Isaiah reminds us that the real king, the King of Kings, overshadows whoever sits on David’s throne. The robe of God the King won’t even fit in the Salomon’s magnificent temple. All-around God, court is in session. Seraphs fly and sing while they shield their eyes from God’s brightness and their feet from God’s sight. Here, we’re reminded of an Old Testament notion that God goodness is such that if we, as sinful humans, looked at God, we’d die.[8] We also see an ancient custom, which in parts of the world still holds true, that the dirt on our feet represents the unclean state of creatures.[9]

Isaiah is beside himself.  Feeling doomed, he cries, “Woe is me; I am a man of unclean lips and live among people of unclean lips, yet my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!” The idea of unclean lips implies the uncleanness of the whole person as Jesus says in Matthew, “What comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and that is what defiles.”[10] Furthermore, we learn that Isaiah doesn’t just see himself as sinful, he also understands he lives with sinful people. This passage is why, in our prayer of confessions, we have time for corporate and individual prayer. We are responsible for the bad things we do individually, as well as the bad things done by society at large. 

Only after the coals from the altar touch Isaiah’s lips does he hear God’s call. Now, instead of fear, he confidently volunteers to be God’s spokesperson. As I suggested earlier, we don’t know what he thought of the message he must carry to the people, but he’s got a job to do.

Verses 9 to 12 is a message of doom. God’s word brings confusion and a hardening of heart and leads to destruction. Often, we hear of God saving a remnant, but here we’re told if only 10% survives, it, too, will be destroyed. Total destruction. Everything is empty. 

When I lived in Utah, about once-a-year Ralph, a friend of mine, and I would take a trip out into the desert to explore.  One year we set our sights on Hamilton and Treasure City, true ghost towns located in White Pine County, miles from a paved road. In the late 1860s, 12,000 people lived around the Treasure Hill mining district, but the gold and silver didn’t run deep. Two years later, the towns declined. By the mid-1870s, they were abandoned.[11]

That night we camped on Main Street in Treasure City. It was eerie. Half stone walls of former buildings surrounded us and created long shadows as the sun sank in the west. Nothing remained intact. And you had to be careful walking around because there were open mining shafts in which you could fall. No one else was around. In the distance, coyotes sang. At nearly 10,000 feet, the brilliant stars looked to be just out of our reach. The wind rustled sagebrush, and a few dangling pieces of roofing tin squeaked. 

Reading Isaiah’s message, I imagine Jerusalem looking like what Treasure City did back in the mid-1990s when we camped there. Of course, Treasure City’s destruction had nothing to do with God’s judgment. There was just a limit of the available high-grade ore. But the result was the same. Both Jerusalem and Treasure City became desolate. 

But why would God do this? Why wipe out even the remnant? I don’t claim to understand all of God’s ways, for I am not God. But I think we learn two things here. First, the chapter ends with only a lifeless stump remaining. Five chapters later in Isaiah, we read about a shoot coming from the stump of Jesse (David’s father).[12] From that stump comes hope. And by bringing life from the stump, God demonstrates his power not only to create but to redeem a fallen creation. 

Second, the eventual fall of Israel, Judah, and Jerusalem changed the Hebrew people.[13] After the exile in Babylon, you no longer hear of God’s people following pagan gods. Instead, the Jews who returned from Babylon to rebuild remain, to this day, solely committed to One God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, the God of Abraham, Issac, and Jacob.And for us Christians, this God is the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our ultimate trust doesn’t belong to any human construct or person, but only to Almighty God, who has the power to redeem. Sooner or later all we have and create will fail. But God, and those whom God claims, will remain. Amen.

[1] Romans 3:23.

[2] To review the catechism in its entirety, see https://www.crcna.org/welcome/beliefs/confessions/heidelberg-catechism   

[3] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2022/04/03/why-church-for-proper-worship/  For others who see this passage as an outline for worship, see Walter Brueggeman, Westminster Bible Companion: Isaiah 1-39 (Louisville: WJKP, 1998), 58 and Scott Hoezee, “Isaiah 6:1-8 (9-13) Commentary, https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2022-01-31/isaiah-61-8-9-13/

[4] Some scholars break this passage into 3 parts (the vision of the King, the purification, the commissioning). See Otto Kaiser, Isaiah 1-12, John Bowden translator, (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1983), 123-133.

[5] While this passage shows up several times in the three-year lectionary, at least this week’s lectionary adds verses 9-13 in brackets, suggesting they’re optional.

[6] Christopher R. Sietz, Isaiah 1-39: Interpretation, A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville: John Knox Press, 1993), 57.

[7] 2 Kings 15:3. 2 Chronicles 26 gives a more complete picture of his reign and how he sought out God when his reign began (at the age of 16). Later in his long reign, pride got the best of him as he invaded the priest domain in the temple. 

[8] See Exodus 19:21-22, 20:18-19. 

[9] In the Muslim world, it is considered an offense to sit on the floor with your feet facing others. You’re to bend your legs so your feet are behind you. 

[10] Matthew 15:18

[11] For insight into Treasure City, see Shawn Hall, Romancing Nevada’s Past: Ghost Towns and Historical Sites of Eureka, Lander, and White Pine Counties (Reno: University of Nevada Press, 1994), 199-202. 

[12] Isaiah 11:1. This passage titled “The Peaceful Kingdom,” is often read during Christmas. 

[13] Isaiah writings here would have been in the time of the Assyrians, who destroyed Israel (the Northern Kingdom). Jerusalem wouldn’t be destroyed and desolate until their defeat by the Babylonians. 

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A Psalm to Guide our Journeys

Title slide with photo of the two churches where this sermon is to be preached.

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
January 26, 2025
Psalm 19

Sermon recorded at Mayberry Church on Friday, January 24, 2025

We’re on a journey through life. Journeys are exciting and like most journeys, we should be amazed at the sights we see as we travel with Jesus. Ours is a sacred journey. Our ultimate goal of returning home to the Father, as the prodigal came back to his dad’s farm.[1]

Jesus prepares the way.[2] But there’s no need to rush down the road. Instead, we should saunter through God’s marvelous creation. As we’re on a spiritual journey, there may be things we can learn from other traditions. From Confucius philosophy out of China comes a list of practices for a spiritual journey. I recommend them to you:

  • Practice the arts of attention and listening.
  • Practice renewing yourself every day.
  • Practice meandering to the center of every place.
  • Practice the ritual of reading sacred texts (for us, that’s the Bible)
  • Practice gratitude and praise singing (to this we might add Paul’s advice to “pray without ceasing”[3]).[4]

Before reading the Scripture: 

This morning we’re looking at Psalm 19. As I have emphasized before, the Psalms served as Israel’s hymnal. This psalm, credited to David, had a liturgical function in worship. David draws from his experience at being outdoors where he’s amazed at the way God created order. 

Our psalm can be divided into three parts. The first section serves as a hymn of praise to the God of creation. Theologians call this natural theology, God’s revelation through creation.[5] The second part praises God’s law. The law as with all Scripture, is a part of God’s revelation.[6] Having been brought to enlightenment through the awe of creation and the wisdom of the law, the psalm ends with a plea for God’s help so that the Psalmist might be cleansed and remain pure. This is a Psalm which guides us on our journey home.

Read Psalm 19:

As I read the opening of this Psalm, I mumble to myself, “Amen.” I, too, have seen God’s glory in the sky. The winter sky at night is amazing. Thursday night, I got home from an amateur radio meeting in Galax about 10 PM. A friend had met me at my house and rode with me. We spent about ten minutes talking outside by our cars, in the cold, while looking up at the sky. 

I spotted Mars by the twins, in the constellation Gemini. Jupiter stood near the right horn of the bull, Taurus. Orion and his faithful dog had risen high in the sky as well as the dipper as it circles Polaris. But that’s only what the eye can see. Even as scientists bring us more understanding of the vastness of the universe, it’s not a reason for us to question our faith. Instead, there’s more to be in awe of God in the beauty and vastness of creation.  

And yet, we need to remember that although we might witness the glory of the Lord in creation, it’s because God’s creation is good. David, the psalmist, doesn’t slip into pantheism, praising creation itself as god, nor does he go off into worshipping nature.[7] We do not worship creation, only the Creator is worthy of our praise. But because it is a good creation, we stand in awe of the God who made the heavens and the earth. 

The opening six verses of this Psalm remind us of Psalm 8, which also praises the wonders of God as seen in creation. Scripture itself, in Genesis, begins with creation. Again, we don’t worship creation, only the Creator. But in creation, we come to understand an aspect of God’s majesty. Take the time to enjoy the night sky. Or watch in awe as a storm blows in, to appreciate distant mountain peak, or to watch the waves crash on a beach. These experiences should drive us to our knees in praise of the Creator. 

The appreciation of the world in which we live is only the first part of this Psalm. The change comes in verse 7. Some scholars suggest the Psalm is really two separate Psalms put together for some reason but originally separate.[8] I don’t buy into that line of thinking. Instead, the God who created the cosmos, has not abandoned it, but continues to be involved with creation, through the giving of the law and later the sending of a son.[9]

The second section of Psalm 19 is similar (but with a lot less words) to Psalm 119. The 119th Psalm, as you may know, goes on and on and on in praise of God’s law. If you have time, I encourage you to read it. But be warned, it’s the longest Psalm in scripture and longer than some books within the Bible. 

I believe the Psalmist intentionally links the parts of the Psalm to remind us of when we find ourselves in awe of God’s handwork, we should dive deeper into God’s heart. This is where the law comes into play. This section begins by calling the law perfect. We’re reminded the law’s purpose is to revive the soul. This may sound strange. We think of a particularly spectacular sunset as soul reviving, not laws. Laws sound, well, too legalistic. And we don’t want to be legalists. 

You know, at one point in my life, I thought I wanted to be a lawyer, but a college course in jurisprudence cured me of that idea. So how can the law restore our souls?

As I have often said, God’s law shouldn’t be viewed as restrictive. Instead, it sets boundaries in which we live in a way we honor God and others while having great freedom. If we stay within the boundaries, we enjoy life. If we move outside the boundaries, just as we move beyond the firmaments of the heavens, we’re not going to sustain life for long. 

Just as the Psalmist allowed the majesty of creation sweep over him as he watched the sun and stars make their way across the sky, he now looks inside of himself. He acknowledges how the law restores his soul, bring joy to his heart and light to his eyes. 

The law is even more desired than wealth. It’s sweeter than honey. The sweetness should remind of a practice in ancient days when Jewish children started to to study the law. The rabbi dropped a bit of honey on their tongues so they might come to understand that like honey, the law is also sweet. 

In verse 11, the Psalm takes another turn. It’s as if the Psalmist realizes the law brings consequences. He asks God to cleanse him. This is a prayer of confession and supplication. The Psalmist knows he needs forgiveness, which involves his confession. He also knows he can’t do everything by himself. In verse 12, he acknowledges the sins of which he’s unaware—and, as a warning, we all have such sins. He also knows others stand to lead him astray. To avoid the consequences of stepping out of the bound prescribed by the law, the Psalmist needs God’s help.  

The Psalm closes with a verse I’ve often pray silently before stepping into the pulpit: “Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to thee, O Lord.” Here, at the end of this poem, the wonderings of his imagination focus. Having seen God’s glory in the heavens and experienced it in the law, he realizes he need not try to please anyone but God. God is his rock, his foundation; God, is his redeemer, his Savior.  

Psalm 19 is one of the more beloved Psalms, standing there with Psalm 23, 121, and 145. It’s a good Psalm to mediate upon and, if you’re into such, to memorize. We’re reminded of God’s amazing creation, of God’s care for us through the law, and of our need to seek refuge in God’s grace. This Psalm sets before us a way to appreciate God and to help steer our lives to align us to God’s purposes. It’s a Psalm which captures the Christian journey back home. Amen. 

[1] Luke 15:11-24.

[2] John 14:1-7.

[3] 1 Thessalonians 5:17.

[4] From the Analects of Confucius as quoted by Phil Cousineau, The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker’s Guide to Making Travel Sacred (New York: MJF Books, 1998), 126. 

[5] See Romans 1:20.

[6] Leonard Vander Zee, “Psalm 19 Commentary,” Center for Excellence in Preaching, https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2018-09-10/psalm-19-3/

[7] James L. May, Psalms: Interpretation: A Biblical Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1994), 97. 

[8] Artur Weiser, The Psalms: Old Testament Library (Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1962), 197 approaches the Psalm as two separate Psalms. Claus Westermann, The Living Psalms (1984, Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1989), 253, both approach Psalm 19 as verses 1-6 being the original. Westermann sees the rest as a later addition. 

[9] Scott Hoezee, “Psalm 19 Commentary,” The Center for Excellence in Preaching, https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2025-01-20/psalm-19-11/

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Silly Love Songs

Title slide with photo of the two churches where the sermon is to be preached

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
Isaiah 62
January 19, 2025

At the beginning of worship: 

The first book I read this year was Delila Owen’s Where the Crawdads Sing. Some of you may have read it. It was a best seller a few years ago. I’m not sure why it took me this long to get around to it. After all, the book is set in the North Carolina salt marsh, something I’m familiar with from my childhood. 

In the book, Kya, the Marsh Girl, is shunned by “polite society.” Everyone abandons her, but because of Tate, one of the town kids, she learns to read and draw. Over time she becomes knowledgeable about the salt marsh. She even publishes books on the marsh, which is impressive for a girl who only went to school for one day. 

I got to thinking about how, in a way, this story could be a variation of Cinderella. The forsaken child becomes incredibly blessed and, in the end, marries well. I never spent much time pondering Cinderella; I always thought it to be a girl’s story. I did, however, do a google search and discovered there are variations of the Cinderella which goes back to the ancient Greeks. Adaptations of the story are found over Europe and Asia.[1] While each story has differences, they’re essentially about a forsaken girl marrying royalty. Isn’t that what fairytales are all about? Someone down and out ending up in a position of honor.[2]

And there’s a part of such fairytale stories which applies to the Christian faith. God lifts us when we’re down and out, adopts us through Christ, and lead us into an enviable position of joy. 

Before the reading of Scripture: 

Today we’re exploring the 62nd chapter of Isaiah. Chapters 60 to 62 are individual oracles which focus on the release from exile and the return of the Hebrew people to Zion. God removes the shame of his people and restores them to position of glory. 

Mostly, this chapter involves God speaking through the prophet, but in verse 8 and 11, instead of God speaking, the prophet recalls God’s promises from the past.[3] I want us to consider this passage in its original context, then ponder what it might me to us today. 

Read Isaiah 62

Do you remember the song by Paul McCarthy and Wings, titled “Silly Love Songs?” It was number one of the billboard charts for several weeks in 1976 and written by Paul for his wife at the time, Linda. The opening line went “You think that people would have had enough of silly love songs, but I look around and see it’s not so.” Then he sang repeatedly, “I love you” before going on to other verses.

In a way, it’s too bad we’re not looking at this text on a Sunday around Valentine’s Day. This passage is God’s silly love song to the Hebrew people. 

But the people don’t feel loved. They’re down and out. A generation earlier, their armies were decimated by the Babylonians. Jerusalem was laid to waste. The magnificent temple, built by Solomon 400 years earlier, had been destroyed. The people find themselves exiled 800 or so miles from home. 

For many ancient nations, such an experience would result in their disappearance as a nation. But not Israel, for their identity wasn’t primarily to the land, but to Almighty God, creator of heaven and earth. 

God, in this love letter, expresses his affection for the Hebrew people and encourages them not to give up hope. Instead, they are to prepare to receive back all who have been in exile. 

Think for a moment, have you ever done anything foolish for love? Maybe you sang an off-key love song to woo another? Tried your hand at poetry? Written a sappy letter? Or made a fool out of yourself as you yelled into a crowd, proclaiming your devotion to your beloved.[4]

In a way that’s what God does. Others may despised these people. But God risks looking foolish to proclaim his love for them. 

“For Zion’s sake, I will no keep silent,” God shouts at the beginning of the passage. Another translation has it, “I can’t keep my mouth shut.”[5]

No one, watching this rag-tag group of people making their way back to Jerusalem from Babylon would have considered them valuable or important. They were just another conquered people by the Babylonians, struggling to cross the desert to make their way back to their ancestorial home. But God sees value in them. 

Furthermore, God wants other nations to see their glory. God will give them a new name. Naming, in the Old Testament implied ownership. God claims these people as his own. They’ll be a crown in his hand, a delight for all to see. 

Verse 5 describes God’s faithfulness as a marriage. God claims his people as his bride. God, who refers to himself as the builder (and as the Creator, God is the ultimate builder), plans to marry and rejoice over his bride. 

In verse 6, we learn God posted guards upon the walls of Zion, to be on duty day and night. Oddly, these guards are not to call out an alarm about the approaching of a hostile army. Instead, God sets them up as his alarm clock. They remind God of the wedding vows he made and keep doing this until God completes his task of restoring Jerusalem.

Verses 8 and 9 brings up a frequent concern in the Old Testament. None of us like the thought of working hard and not being able to enjoy the fruits of our labor. But it happens. For Israel it may be the result of disobedience, as when foreign armies strip the fields of all the produce or command the houses of the people to serve as barracks.[6] Or, as Solomon mumbles in Ecclesiastes, because of aging.[7] We all know someone who worked hard and had a heart attack a month after retirement. But God promises this will not continue. In the restored Jerusalem, the people can enjoy the fruit of their labors. No more will their enemies take what they’ve worked hard to produce. 

But while much of this promise involves God’s actions, God also calls the people to action. In verse 10, with a series of imperatives (go, prepare, build, clear, and lift), God commands the people to get ready for those returning from exile. They’re to clear and build up highways. They’re to raise flags over the gates as a sign of welcome. While God works for us, we also to do God’s work. It’s to be a team effort. 

As this next group of exiles return, they’re to proclaim God’s work. In my previous two sermons from the prophets, we saw how God pays the ramson for the people’s freedom.[8] Again, that’s a theme here as God provides the recompense needed to free and compensate the people. 

Our passage ends with the giving of a new name which had been promised in verse 2. This name refers to Israel’s relationship to God. A “Holy People,” can also be translated as “people who belong to the Holy One.”[9] As the “Holy People,” they’re also known as “The Redeemed of the Lord.” Again, this new name indicates Zion’s dependence upon God. Because of this transformation, the city which was desolate will now be sought out and no longer seen as forsaken.

As I said earlier, this all applied to Jerusalem coming out of exile. But how might this be applied today to our lives?  While Isaiah speaks to the community of Jerusalem, can we apply the meaning of this text to our own individual lives? 

I think so. This chapter encapsulates the gospel. When we are down and out, without any hope, we’re not abandoned. God still loves us and wants to lift us up and restore us into a community where people will marvel at our transformation. We see this with alcoholics and drug addicts who go through recovery. People who make bad choices in life, and while they must deal the consequences (as did Jerusalem in exile), they turn their lives around and become model citizens are another example.


We worship a powerful God who loves us. As Paul McCarthy sings later in the song I referred to earlier, “when I’m in love, it isn’t silly at all.” Our God through this silly love poem gives hope to the down and out. And that’s not silly. And as a church, we need to clear the way for such people to enter. We should raise banners. Our task is to welcome them into the fellowship. After all, we are all indebted to the triune God, our Creator, our Redeemer, and our Sustainer. Amen.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cinderella

[2]  Fredrick Buechner, Telling the Truth: The Gospel as Tragedy, Comedy, and Fairytale (1977). This little book describes fairytale as I use the term. The book consist of Buechner lectures at Yale’s Beecher Lectures. 

[3] Walter Brueggermann, Westminster Bible Companion: Isaiah 40-66 (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1998), 219. 

[4] For the idea of reading this passage as a love song see Meg Jenista, “Isaiah 62:1-5 Commentary” https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2025-01-13/Isaiah-621-5-4/ .

[5] The Message translation.

[6] Deuteronomy 28:30, Amos 5:11, and Isaiah 65:21-22. 

[7] Ecclesiastes 2:18-23. 

[8] See https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/01/12/is-gods-punishment-and-grace-a-package-deal/ and https://fromarockyhillside.com/2025/01/05/god-helps-those-who-cant-help-themselvs/

[9] Brueggemann, 224. 

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Is God’s punishment and grace a package deal?

title slide with photos of the two churches in winter

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry and Bluemont Churches
Isaiah 43:1-7
January 12, 2024

Sermon recorded at Mayberry on Friday, January 10, 2025. I apologize that the audio is a little scratchy.

At the beginning of worship: 

As part of the human race, it seems we’re inclined to compare ourselves to others. Such behavior is widespread. I have a sneaky feeling it has something to do with original sin. 

When I compare myself to a murder, I feel pretty good. So far, I have resisted the temptation to kill even those whom I felt, at the time, deserved such a fate. If I stack myself up against murderers and other dregs of society, I come out looking good. But what about when I compare myself to Jesus? Or, as we witnessed at his funeral this week, Jimmy Carter? Yet, we should not forget, even Jimmy acknowledged his sinfulness. 

We can’t understand who we are if we only compare ourselves to others. If we consider Paul’s words, “all have sinned and fallen short of God’s glory,”[1] we might realize the danger of comparing ourselves to others. In fact, it would make us no better than our peers. Who wants to be average. Furthermore, it could allow us to commit injustices without even considering what we’re doing. 

I recall Jimmy Carter’s book, which came out the year before he was elected President. It’s title, Why not the Best came from a question asked of him. It’s also a question we should all ask ourselves. Being our best means we do what is right and, instead of following the crowd, keep our eyes on the perfecter of our faith, our Savior. 

One book, about following the crowd, has stuck with me over the decades. It’s by Christopher Browning a historian and titled:  Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland.[2] Police Battalion 101 was a group of regular working-class guys from Hamburg, Germany. They were not political. A few had even opposed the rise of Nazism, but mostly they ignored it. 

These men were mostly too old for the regular army, so they were put into a National Guard type unit and sent into territories in which the army had already conquered. This battalion of 500 men became responsible for 83,000 deaths of innocent Jews in Poland. 

In the closing of the book, Browning discusses the haunting implications of his study. How can a group of men who, at first, were repulsed at the thought of murder, become willing participants in the holocaust? After all, these were not hardcore Nazis.  Peer pressure is a terrible thing. That’s why we shouldn’t compare ourselves to others, but only to Christ.


One of the things several people in Carter’s funeral reminded the crowd is how Carter often did things which he knew would hurt him politically. One was to appoint Paul Volcker as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Volcker warned Carter of his intention to raise interest rates to curve inflation. In the short run, he said, it would hurt the economy. And there was an election coming up, Volcker reminded him. 

Carter told him, “You take care of the economy, I’ll deal with the politics.” Of course, the rates rose, and it didn’t help Carter’s economy, which was one of the reasons he was so vulnerable in the 1980 election.[3] But, by doing what’s right, Carter picked a man who set the course for our nation’s economic growth in the 1980s and 1990s.

We need to do what is right. We need to strive to be our best, which means we should compare ourselves to Jesus and none other. 

Before reading the scripture: 

As I announced last week, I plan to preach on the Old Testament passages from the lectionary, a suggestive set of passage to preach, between last Sunday through the middle of February. At that time, I will return to Mark and finish up my work through that gospel during Lent. 

I often criticize the lectionary.[4] I know some preachers who prefer it and suggest it forces them to preach on passages they’d often skip. I, on the other hand, often find myself critical of the passages used and the parts left out. That’s true in our passage today. So, before I read it, let me inform you that this lovely piece of hopeful poetry stands in sharp contrast to the passage immediately before it. 

We’re looking at the first seven verses in Isaiah 43. This is a passage, in which God blesses and restores Israel, ironically comes on the heels of the last five verses of 42. There, we’re told of Israel’s disobedience. Israel has been blind and deaf to God’s pronouncements and stand in need of punishment.  

To gain a full understanding of God, we need both parts[5]. In our lives there are a chasm between who we are and who God created us to be. We live in a paradox. Yet, God loves us. We can’t separate our shortcomings and God’s grace. The two must be held in tension. In this manner, we won’t be tempted to seeing God’s blessings as a stamp of approval for our behaviors. No, God loves us despite who we are. That’s the good news. Seeing both sides—our failures and God’s faithfulness, should humble us. After all, without God’s grace, we’d truly be lost. 

Read Isaiah 43:1-7

The 43rd Chapter of Isaiah opens wonderfully. The God who created us, who formed us out of the earth, also redeems us. Therefore, we shouldn’t fear. God through the prophet commands, “fear not.” 

As I indicated before the reading of the passage, in the previous chapter, God pointed out Israel’s sin and need for punishment. You know, it’s fearful to be called into the principal’s office, or your bosses office for a redress. God authority is far greater than the principal or boss.  God created us; God knows our name, so there’s no escaping responsibility for our sins. 

I have struggled all my life to remember names, but I know it’s important. It feels good when someone important calls us by name.  

In 1988, as a seminary student, I attended the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church. It was held in St. Louis that year and the first order of business was the election of a moderator. That year, Ken Hall, pastor of Hill Presbyterian Church in Butler, Pennsylvania was elected. 

I had spent the previous two years working for Covenant Presbyterian Church in Butler and had done some joint youth events with the Hill Church. I always worked with the associate pastor, and had only met Ken, the pastor there, once.

The Pittsburgh Theological Seminary contingent at General Assembly in 1988 I’m on the left, with hair. This would be one of the last photos taken of me without a beard as I grew a beard back the next month and haven’t shaved since.

The night after the election, there was a moderator’s reception. I went with a bunch of other seminary students from around the country. We were in the receiving line. When we got up to Ken, I put my hand out to shake his. But instead, he stepped forward, saying “Jeff, I didn’t know you were going to be here,” and hugged me. All the other seminary students were impressed. It felt good. 

God knowing name is not like the principal knowing my name. Instead, it shows that God cares. 

There is a lot of theology packed into the first two verses of our passage. God created us, forms us, redeems us, knows our name, call us his own and refuses to abandon us when life becomes difficult.  In verse two, we’re told that when we pass through the rivers, God is with us. This may draw for us images of baptism, and that’s okay, but think about the people in Western North Carolina, who lived along the Swannanoa River during Hurricane Helene. While baptism doesn’t promise us a carefree life, few expect the terror of those who endured the floods in Western North Carolina.

God also promises to be with those walking through fire. Certainly, those poor souls in Los Angeles this past week need to feel God’s presence. In this life we’re not promised a world without peril. But God promises not to abandon us. Furthermore, God promises to redeem us, to buy us back, which as I spoke of last week, is what Jesus did. 

In a way, this passage repeats itself. In verses 2 and 5, we’re told not to fear. And after each, God provides a similar promise. The first is more general and is a reminder that as Israel goes into exile, they’re not abandoned. God stays by us during times of turmoil. The second involves God bringing us back home, which the descendants of those sent into exile experienced. After all, as the passage ends, God formed and made us for his glory. Ultimately, God’s grace isn’t just about us, it’s about God’s glory.[6]

If you think about this passage, you get a sense of the triune workings of God. God creates and forms us, as individuals and into a family of believers. When we stray from God’s path, God redeems us through his Son and our Lord, Jesus Christ. And finally, when we experience trouble, God through the Holy Spirit abides with us. 

These are wonderful promises in Scripture. The God who chastises us, also lovingly rescues us.[7] In chapter 42, we see the trouble we’ve gotten ourselves into. We’re not deserving of God’s grace, but that doesn’t matter to God. God redeems us, not for what we’ve done, but for his own glory. That’s grace. For God loves us still. Amen. 

In your prayers today, please remember those caught in the California wildfires. If lost for words, click here for a prayer to pray.

[1] Romans 3:23.

[2] Christopher Browning, Ordinary Men: Reserve Police Battalion 101 and the Final Solution in Poland, (NY: HarpersCollins, 1992). 

[3] I think this was in the eulogy by the late  Walter Mondale, which was read by his son. Of course, there were other reasons for Carter’s weakness in the 1980 elections, most notably the Iran Hostage Crisis. 

[4] There are several lectionaries available for use. The one most protestant churches use is the Revised Common Lectionary. To learn more, check out this link: https://lectionary.library.vanderbilt.edu

[5] Paul D. Hanson, Isaiah 40-66, Interpretation, a Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Louisville, KY: John Knox Press, 1995), 59 

[6] Claus Westermann, Isaiah 40-66, The Old Testament Library translated by David M. G. Stalker (1966, Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1969), 118-119. 

[7] See Meg Jenistra, “Isaiah 43:1-7.” See https://cepreaching.org/commentary/2025-01-06/isaiah-431-7-4/.

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God helps those who can’t help themselvs

title slide with photo of churches in winter

Jeff Garrison
Bluemont and Mayberry Churches
January 5, 2025
Jeremiah 31:7-14

Sermon recorded at Bluemont Church on Friday, January 3, 2025

At the beginning of worship.

How many of you agree with this statement: “God helps those who help themselves?” Too many mistakenly attribute the statement as coming from the Bible, even though the Holy Book contains no such proverb. God helps those who help themselves may be the identifying proverb of American civil religion, but it has nothing to do with Christianity (or Judaism for that matter). 

Instead, Scripture provides a picture of a God who helps those who can’t help themselves. If you are a member of this church, you have affirmed this by admitting your sinfulness and your need for a Savior. You can’t save yourself. As humans, we are frail; only with God are all things are possible.

Walter Bruggerman, a retired Old Testament professor, once proposed a twofold task for a preacher… On the one hand, the preacher’s task is to reach those who are only concern are themselves, those who think only about “me.” We live in a conceited age and many of us are caught in this trap where we think so ourselves, leaving little room for God. This results in a trap within our own limitations. In the end we are alienated from each other and from God.

On the other hand, Bruggerman identifies an opposite group of people, those who cease to think of themselves as important and exaggerate God to such a degree in which Almighty is so big and tall that we, as mere mortals, have no real contact. Faced with the goodness of such a God, we see ourselves as inept, often leaving us with a feeling of rage. God became a person in Jesus Christ especially to reach this latter group of people.

However, in front of God, both groups—those who exaggerate the self and those who exaggerate God, those who experience alienation and those who endure rage—are reduced to silence. We cannot have a conversation with each other or with God when we’re locked into our own little worlds, nor can we talk to God when we feel God is so big he does not care about us. 

Yet, deep inside this silence many in our society experience is a longing and yearning for communion. We need to address such yearnings.[1] We speak to the human desire to reconnect to the Creator. After all, God is the only one with the power to redeem and sustain life.  

Before reading of the scriptures:

After spending last year working through the gospel of Mark, I will spend some time in the Old Testament for the next few weeks. It’s important that we balance the two, for only then can we come to a more complete understanding of God. 

Our morning reading from Jeremiah affirms a basic Christian belief, one at the heart of Presbyterian theology. The God who gives us the breath of life is also the God who, when we find ourselves alienated from him, calls us back to speech. We’ll hear this in the opening verse when the Lord, through the prophet, calls on Israel to “sing aloud, raise shouts, proclaim and give praise.” 

But let’s put this reading into context. Jeremiah was a prophet of doom. His words mostly fell on deaf ears. Other prophets promised good things happening to Israel, even while the nation rotted, and the armies of Babylon laid siege to Jerusalem. They threw Jeremiah into a cistern because the people grew weary of hearing his negativism. But as the siege continued to strangle Jerusalem, and the court prophets were proved wrong, Jeremiah seems to switch. He offers a hopeful word for the future.[2]

Some probably laughed at Jeremiah. They knew the Babylonians would break through the walls at any moment. Jeremiah’s words are a hopeful dream, with a promise in the distant future. God, speaking through Jeremiah, assures Israel there will be a new day coming. Only God has the power to restore, and Israel is reminded, once again, not to lose faith, but to draw close to God.   

Read Jeremiah 31:7-14

Jeremiah emphasizes salvation comes from God. God offers salvation to those unable to help themselves. Jerusalem faces death and exile soon. God, however, promises to gather and lead back to the Promised Land, the blind, the lame, the children, and women who are in labor. Each of these groups are people dependent on others, who can’t survive by themselves. They depend upon the mercy of others and when there is no one to help them, God is the one who hears and answers their pleas for help.[3]

In verse 11, we hear of the Messianic hope we have in Jesus Christ. God plans to ransom back his people. Jesus, we believe, atones for our sins.[4] In other words, Jesus pays the ransom for our release from bondage.

As we come to the end of the passage, we witness the joy experienced by the remnant of Israel who will be saved. As we’ve seen, they dance and sing and make merry; they are satisfied with the bounty provided by God.

Against the backdrop of our relative wealth, I wonder what this passage might say to us. After all, we pride ourselves on self-sufficiency. We have a difficult time understanding Jesus’ words from the beatitudes, “Blessed are the poor for theirs is the kingdom of God.”[5] It’s hard for you and me to see how someone poor can be blessed; they’re not exactly complimentary terms. Jesus also tells us how hard it is for someone who is rich to enter the kingdom of heaven.[6]

Turning our lives over to God isn’t popular nor is it seen as necessary in a society priding itself on wealth. It’s harder to see the need for God in our lives and often, it’s only when someone is deathly sick or when misfortune strikes that many people see the light.  

We’ve been blinded from the source of life. As Brueggerman, whom I spoke about earlier, points out, our alienation and rage keep us from seeking such a source. We either think we’re self-sufficient or that God doesn’t care, both of which bar us from the foundation of life. 

Maybe we’re like Frank, in the Frank and Ernest comic strip. After a date with Francine, Frank gloated about how he was sure she was going to be true. After all, she told Frank, “You are the last man I want to see at my door.” We don’t experience the world the way it truly is…  We all need to wake up and accept our dependence upon the author of life and salvation.

The longest held hostage in Lebanon. Terry Anderson asked another hostage, Catholic priest, if he could confess his sins to him. The priest was shocked and remarked, “This is interesting, you being an innocent victim, wanting to confess your sins.” Anderson replied, in a way that exposes his understanding of God and the human condition, “well, there’s quite a few of them in need of confession.”[7]

All of us, whether we realize it, need God in our lives. And we must make room for God by confessing our self-centeredness and our rebellion against God to open in our lives a place for God to exist. Only then will we hear that call of God to join in song, to dance and to be merry. Only then will that yearning inside of us, a yearning often speechless, be given voice.

Salvation is from God for those unable to help themselves. If we feel alienated and cut-off from God, like those whom Jeremiah addressed, we need to hold on to the hope God is with and for us. We need to let God know our dependence on him in all things. Those dependent on God receive an invitation to be in communion with the one who request our presence at his table which is a foretaste to what is to come. Let us celebrate the Lord’s Supper. Amen.

Note: I edited this sermon from one I preached on January 5, 2003.

[1] Walter Bruggerman, Finally Comes the Poet, (Minneapolis: Fortress, 1989), 43-47.

[2] Creating a timeline for Jeremiah and Jerusalem’s fall is difficult as the prophet’s book appears mixed up. Jeremiah ends up in the cistern in chapter 38.

[3] See Exodus 22:21-24.

[4] See Matthew 2:21

[5] Luke 6:20.

[6] Mark 10:25, Luke 18:25.

[7] National Public Radio, December 1993.

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Christmas Eve 2024

Jeff Garrison
Mayberry Church
Christmas Eve 2024
Luke 2:1-20

This is my favorite service of the year. The candles, the carols, at night, it all comes together as we celebrate Christmas. 

The birth of a child opens new possibilities, and the child whose birth we celebrate this evening offers us a glimpse into the workings of God. Through Jesus, we experience grace, forgiveness, love, and hope. We live in a troubled world. It was that way when Jesus was born, too. But Jesus’ coming provides us with meaning and hope for today and eternity. May your celebration tomorrow be filled with joy. 

photo of book "A Ukrainian Christmas"

During Avent, I often read a book about Christmas. This year it was A Ukrainian Christmas. Ukraine is a country where the east and the west collide. We see this collusion in the current war, but the Christmas season is another example. It’s resulted in Ukraine kind of having two Christmases, the Western’ world’s celebration on December 25 and the Eastern world’s celebration on January 6. 

One of the influencers on Christmas in Ukraine came from German settlers who brought Christmas tree with them. In this way, Ukraine is like us, for Christmas trees in our county also came from German settlers in the first half of the 19th Century. 

But many churches in Ukraine added their own twist. They leave the lights off the tree in church and have the church’s members bring lights to hang on the tree. They do this because they believe the light belong with the members, not within the church. We’re supposed to take the lights with us when we go out in the world, not hid them under a basket. Or to paraphrase Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount, “lock them up in a church”. Think about this evening when you drive home together and see all the lights on homes. We are to be the light in the world. 

This evening, I am reflecting on Luke’s account of the Christmas story which we’ve heard. I want to highlight three items this evening: 

the role of Caesar, 
the message of the angels, 
and the significance of the shepherds.  

Luke begins by informing us who’s in charge of the empire, Caesar Augustus. His birth name was Octavian, and he was the son of Julius Caesar’s nephew. On the Ides of March, 44 BC, Julius Ceasar was assassinated. 19-year-old Octavian set off with Mark Antony to defeat those who killed Julius Caesar. Two years later, they defeated the opposition forces and killed Brutus and Cassius. Octavian then ruled much of the empire. A decade later, after Antony joined with Cleopatra, he defeated their armies and gained control of the entire empire. Much of this is remembered through the plays of William Shakespeare.

In 27 BC, the Roman Senate gave Octavian the venerated name of “Augustus,” which means “reverenced.” As his rule continued, a cult arose about the belief he was divine. There was even a myth, like that of Alexander the Great two centuries earlier, that his father was a god.

By the time Jesus was born, some were proclaiming Augustus birth as the beginning of the “good news.” The same word, “good news, from which we get evangelism, was applied to Augustus as to Augustus may have been the most powerful person in the Western World up until this point. He controlled the empire. Rome entered a long period without wars with the empire’s external enemies subdued.  Unlike Julius Caesar, who was a warrior, Augustus was seen as a man of peace. Of course, it was a brutal peace, enforced by Roman legions and terrible executions of those who dared challenge Rome’s authority. But that’s a story for Good Friday.

What’s important to understand is the world in which Jesus came already had someone whom people considered the bearer of good news, the prince of peace. 

This brings me to the second move I’d like us to consider. The angels use that same language which referred to Augustus to refer to the child born in Bethlehem. The singing angels proclaim to the shepherds “good news for all people. A child who will bring peace to those he favors. 

In a subtle fashion, Luke introduces conflict into his story. Who will win? The empire? Or the poor child born in obscurity in a far unknown region of the empire? One who some think is divine, or the one who is divine? Time will tell. 

Then comes the third move, the shepherds check out the baby… We have tended to romanticize shepherds… with shampooed sheep munching on grassy hillsides. But reality isn’t nearly as pristine. It was a dirty business. When it rains, they get muddy. You deal with poop. You live outside with the animals, moving them from one grassy pasture to another. Showers are only available during the rainy season. The life of a shepherd was anything but romantic. Shepherds were dirty and looked down upon by the rest of society. Society placed them right up there with gamblers and tax collectors. Some Jews maintained they didn’t know the difference between mine and thine. People considered them thieves and some probably were. They were so looked down upon they weren’t allowed to serve as a witness in court. 

The contrast between the shepherds and Caesar couldn’t have been more distinct. And who received the message that first Christmas morning? Not those in the royal courts. What does this tell us about the gospel?

One more thing… You know, the temple in Jerusalem required a lot of animals for sacrifices. There was a zone around Jerusalem, which included Bethlehem, in which the animals raised were selected over for the temple’s altar. So, these shepherds were most likely raising animals bound for the temple. With their dirty job, they help people obtain atonement for their sins, but now they rejoice for the one who will truly atone for our sins. 

And finally, what did the shepherds do when they encountered Christ. All our nativity scenes show them bowing in reverence, and that may have been the case for they wouldn’t want to wake the sleepy baby. But when they got out of sight, on their way back to their flocks, they joined the angels in praising God. 

So let me go back to the story I began with, about the churches in Ukraine not putting lights on the trees. It’s because they know we all should be one flicker of God’s light in the world. We’re to praise God for what God has done for us and to let our lights shine to show God’s work. The shepherds did that, and so should we. 


So, when, in just a minute, we light the candles and cut down the lights, look around at the lights within this building and remember we’re to take those lights out into the world, where they belong. Amen. 

Resources:

Edwards, James R., The Gospel According to Luke, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2015. 

Gerbish, Nadiyka and Hrytsak, Yaroslav; A Ukrainian Christmas, Nadiyka Gerbish and Yaroslave Hrytask, translators, Sphere, 2022.  

photos of candlelight service at Mayberry Church