Month: January 2021

Sermon 1-17-21     The Rev Jen Van Zandt                                                     

Psalm 139:1-10

“O Lord, you have searched me and known me. ² You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from far away. ³ You search out my path and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways. ⁴ Even before a word is on my tongue, O Lord, you know it completely. ⁵ You hem me in, behind and before, and lay your hand upon me. ⁶ Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is so high that I cannot attain it. ⁷ Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? ⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. ⁹ If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest limits of the sea, ¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”

Romans 8:31-39

“For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

What Then Shall We Say?

As we try to sort through the horrific events at the capitol last week, whilst being deeply preoccupied by threats and protests and violence at every state capital this Sunday (we’re obviously pre-recording this), we await with anxious hearts over a peaceful and safe transition of power.  We’re also awaiting with anxious hearts as to when the vaccine will be available; when our children and grandchildren can return safely to school; when we can go back to our offices, have larger family events; and, of course, gather again safely to worship.  As Paul writes, “What can we say about all these things?”  Just to be clear, I am intentionally taking this out of context, because I’ve been pondering this verse in light of all that we have endured, and are enduring, and will have to endure a while longer.  What do we say about all these things that continue to be unfathomable?  Rarely does a week go by when someone asks me, “Do you think this is actually part of God’s plan?”  

While there are certainly plenty of religious and political leaders who believe that the death and this destruction from Covid and abuse of power is seen as ‘righting wrongs’ and ‘teaching people a lesson’, that surely is not Presbyterian theology and certainly not mine.  It’s also not the Gospel, especially highlighted in these two particular texts.  Psalm 139 is the clearest example of the most intimate connection between the psalmist and God.  It’s also unique in other ways as well.

First, the psalmist actually doesn’t ask for anything, well until the very end. Most psalms, as you know, are pleas for God’s intervention to stop something, provide for something, or fix or reverse the psalmist’s plight or to eschew and actually destroy all enemies of self and God.  And that’s why they’re also beloved. They give voice to the things that we are thinking and feeling and even saying.  

So why Psalm 139 today when so many other psalms may be apparently a better fit?  Maybe at first glance.  Just hang in with me. Instead of jumping right into the petition or supplication which in layman’s terms means a prayer of “Please God help me heal or help someone else”, this psalmist is able to step away from the chaos of all that distracts and actually ponder out loud, at a deeper level: the joy, the relief, the miracle and the true mystery of God’s constant, unconditional, unending and comforting presence.  That’s not something that many of us are prone to, especially in the anxious life and times we are living now.

Verses one through six particularly lay out the multi-dimensional presence of God–a presence that’s not a hovering God, like a parent or a teacher, standing over us to see if we’re doing our homework or misbehaving. No, this presence is like a gentle but constant breeze that warms our faces, swirls in our hair and brings us fresh oxygen to breathe (without masks!).  This presence is not something we have to ask for.  It is already given.  It is part of the covenant that God made with Israel and us; that Yahweh would be our God and we would be God’s people.

In modern terms, the difference between hopingGod will do something and understanding God’s presence is a simple word and it’s laced all throughout this psalm.  KNOW.  This psalmist knowsand trusts and relies and celebrates this inexplicable mystery of this gift of God’s presence.  But knowing God’s presence is with us can make all the difference in how we act and react to news of any sort. Let me share a real-time example. 

As I was writing this sermon, I got a phone call.  I don’t usually ever answer my phone or even have it nearby to avoid any and all distractions, but I answered it because it’s the hospital where my father currently is and has been since Tuesday. The Dr. tells me that he’s in a surgical suite and they’re looking for internal bleeding. I’ll be told the outcome of that later today.  And when I immediately got off the phone, I started that rapid-fire prayer that begins with, “Please God, please God, please God…”

I noticed my stomach was clenched. I was rubbing my forehead. I was holding onto my phone with a death grip. Then I caught myself.  I took in a deep breath. I sat back in my chair, and remembered the very psalmist’s words. I drank in the presence of God, who knows completely more than I do, of what I’m fearing and what I need, because God looks beyond even those all too familiar human emotions.  God looks beyond all of that, deep into our hearts.  In that moment I felt surrounded by God and held by God in God’s grasp.  My friends, this does not mean that the test results will be what I want and need them to be, but what it does mean is that God’s presence will sustain me regardless.

In Romans 8, Paul fleshes this out even further and speaks even more aptly to the multiple world and national crises we are dealing with. “What then shall we say to these things? I am convinced that “neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Friends, these words are a gift to us in this day.  They will be a gift to us in the days and weeks and months ahead.   But, friends, we have to turn over our control.  We have to turn over our fear.  We have to turn over all things that get in the way of us actually sitting and noticing and allowing God’s presence to shower over us and give us the peace, the peace that passes all human understanding.  That is a gift that comes from God. Thanks be to God! Amen.

Sermon 1-10-21  –   Rev Jen Van Zandt 

Matthew 3:13-17

“Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan, to be baptized by him.  John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?”  But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now; for it is proper for us in this way to fulfill all righteousness.”  Then he consented.  And when Jesus had been baptized, just as he came up from the water, suddenly the heavens were opened to him and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him.  And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.”

Seeking and Following

            In the normal rhythm of the church calendar (and the usual rhythm of our church today), as we honor and celebrate the baptism of the Lord, we would also joyfully be ordaining and installing our new officers and sending them on a path to do the challenging and meaningful work of the church.  Being ordained and serving the church is truly a tremendous privilege.  Fourteen years ago to this day, I arrived here to begin the work of my call–a month before, I, too, would be ordained. In another few hours, I will also have the great privilege of preaching at the installation of the new pastor at the Morris Plains Presbyterian Church.   And, ironically, he comes from serving my home church in Caldwell.

            For those of you who have never had the privilege of being ordained or installed or even related to someone who has, you know it is a tremendous honor.  It calls for trust, discipline, faithfulness and courage to make hard decisions, to debate and discuss challenging situations with an open mind. It calls for patience and, above all, respect for one another in the call of Ordination.   When those characteristics and behaviors get lost, the mission and the ministry, the work of the church gets stalled and lost. The body becomes weak and spiritually adrift.

            I want to thank all the officers currently serving, those who have just finished terms, those who have yet to begin their service, and those who have actually taken additional terms–either now or in the past–to keep this church, this ship, healthy and strong.  It is because of you that this church has done, and continues to do, mighty acts in the name of Christ; for the homeless, the nameless, the grieving, and the sick. It is because of you that youth and children learn about the love of God and the power of the Holy Spirit to do amazing things even among the youngest and newest believers.  

            And while much of what we treasure and miss is being held at bay, it doesn’t mean that God’s spirit and God’s activity is being held at bay.  Even though we are not together, it’s just being manifested differently. As long as we continue to have strong, capable and faithful leaders, driven by the conviction of serving others in the name of Christ, this community of faith will continue to be a beacon of hope, a place for peace and renewal, a place where everyone has a seat at the table:  the Communion table, the table of Christmas dinners, the table of soup and chili cook-offs, the table in the library where officers gather as one voice to uphold the Gospel in their calling.  

            Our texts today reinforce and firmlyremind us what servant leadership is and whom we serve and for what purpose. The servant, Jesus, chosen by God, is to bring justice to all the nations; the servant is to bring justice and peace, not through force or aggression, but by example of mercy, equity and light.

            The events in Washington this week and all that continues to unfold couldn’t be further from God’s purposes, to put it mildly.  The work of doing justice is not just for the faint of heart in any setting.  Walter Brueggemann, who is an expert in the book of Isaiah and a well-known Old Testament scholar, says that the servant in Isaiah 42  “…is deeply conflicted; it is a high-risk matter, but the servant does not proceed with force or high-handed authority. God’s justice is brought gently, cheerfully, and caringly. The servant has respect for persons who are weak, fragile and in jeopardy”.

            My friends, what we witnessed this week was not only a failure of certain leadership, but a blatant disregard for all that we hold dear and sacred.  The call on our lives as servant leaders is not only for those who are public servants and elected officials or elected officers within God’s church.  It calls on all of us to fight for justice and uphold the Gospel.  It is our duty to uphold God’s purposes and to be the people, not of darkness, but of light; not of oppression, but freedom; not of tyranny, but transcendence.  The only way that is possible is if we have the courage to follow our servant leader and do the difficult work: to pay attention to God’s voice proclaiming who we are to follow, who we are to listen to, who we are to be led by, and who we can become fearless of.  

            I pray that peace reigns today and in the days and weeks to come.  But regardless of what happens next, know that we will be held together by our faithfulness, by our baptism, by our table and by a servant who has the sovereign power over not only the church, but all of creation and is about to do a new thing.  May it be so. Amen.

Sermon 1-3-21      The Rev Jen Van Zandt 

Luke 2:40-45

“The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.  Now every year his parents went to Jerusalem for the festival of the Passover.  And when he was twelve years old, they went up as usual for the festival.  When the festival was ended and they started to return, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem, but his parents did not know it.  Assuming that he was in the group of travelers, they went a day’s journey.  Then they started to look for him among their relatives and friends.  When they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem to search for him.  After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.  And all who heard him were amazed at his understanding and his answers.  When his parents saw him they were astonished; and his mother said to him, “Child, why have you treated us like this?  Look, your father and I have been searching for you in great anxiety.” He said to them, “Why were you searching for me?  Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?”  But they did not understand what he said to them. Then he went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was obedient to them.  His mother treasured all these things in her heart.  And Jesus increased in wisdom and in years and in divine and human favor.”

Under God’s Care

In this unique and singular account of Jesus’ early years, we get a brief look at Jesus in all of his humanity as a teenager.  It is the only glimpse that we have of him between his birth and the beginning of his adult life as a future prophet, priest and king. People often ask me why we don’t know much about his life; or really anything at all before he begins his journey.  The fact is that besides knowing that he was a carpenter by trade, the answer, in short, is it really doesn’t matter all that much. I’ll come back to this later.

But here, Luke doesgive a helpful bridge at least between infancy and adulthood and there’s a bit of humor, I think, in seeing his humanity in his adolescence.  There’s also perhaps some comfort for us as parents, as well as the teenager in all of us, when we see and hear these classic struggles and dynamics between a parent and child; the parents going in one direction and the teen making his own different and separate choice.  And then the tension ensues.  I’m sure that was the case in my family, and it may have been in yours as well.

At first blush, this story pulls at one’s heartstrings with both compassion for the frantic parents, who have just realized their son is not among them and the poor child who has been forgotten or left behind in the chaos of the holiday caravan.  It has all the great makings of a movie.  Oh, wait a second… there wasa movie about this.  You know what I’m talking about.  Yes, my friends, this is the story of Home Alone.  

Although it’s not an exact replica, there are some striking similarities.  Catherine O’Hara, who plays the mother in Home Alone, shows us the utter hysteria and guilt that a parent feels when separation is realized.  And John Heard, who plays the father, typically, is downplaying the mother’s anxiety and trying to calm her down through logic.  

Where the plot separates between the story in Luke and Home Aloneis that unlike the adorable Macaulay Culkin, who plays the forgotten child, Jesus is a teenager or what we would call a ‘tween’ now.  And it’s unclear from Biblical historians whether Jesus was formally bar mitzvahed at this point or not.  But clearly, he is wise beyond his years and has chosen to be among the priests and the religious leaders.  While we can appreciate the dialogue between the frantic and angry parent and a snarky teen (which comes out clearly in this text), it also points to a far more important message.  Jesus, at the age of 12 is fullyaware who his father is… and it’s notJoseph.

Mary exclaims, “Son, your father and I have been looking for you anxiously.” And Jesus’ retort can be seen as snark coming from a teenager.  But, more deeply, he’s saying, “Why don’t you getthe fact that I mustbe in my Father’s house?” His parents are utterly confounded and Jesus is left feeling and being misunderstood.  Ultimately, Jesus complies and leaves with his parents and they return to their home while Mary, for a second time, is pondering these things in her heart.  I bet she pondered.  You know the real reason why we don’t hear about Jesus again until he’s thirty? It’s because she groundedhim for about twenty years!  

But seriously, this story, even though it’s not in the lectionary, must not be glossed over.  In this story, we have a crucial glimpse into Jesus’ full humanity as well as his remarkable wisdom and understanding of who God was to him and to the rest of humanity. Further it’s a helpful bridge between an infant king and what comes next literally–next week is his baptism as an adult.  Most importantly, this is a story that sets in motion God’s story and God’s activity.

In the story of the world, here is a story of the beginning of God’s redemption. Now, more than ever, as we wait with increasing fear and impatience to be set free from the prison of Covid and all that has been put on hold and cancelled and lost; as people around the world wait and pray and try to sustain one another as our lives continue to be forever changed and lost; this is a message of God ‘on the way’. This message of us being under and in God’s care,needs to be highlighted.

I happened to see Home Aloneon the television maybe three or four months ago and I decided to watch it all the way through. The part of the story that I forgot was the redemption in the plot.  Macaulay Culkin, who is terrified by his next-door neighbor who looks like an old creepy, dangerous man, ends up bumping into him when Macaulay Culkin goes off to church, seeking comfort, seeking peace.  And in the church is that very scary next-door neighbor. It takes a while for them to connect and they end up sitting together.  And in that moment, Macaulay Culkin sees the humanity, the brokenness, and the loneliness of this man, because he’s all alone for Christmas, just like Macaulay Culkin.  And, in that moment, we see the story of hope and redemption.  

You’ve all seen this movie, so it’s not a spoiler alert, but go back and watch it, because on a very snowy day, as Macaulay Culkin’s parents and family return home and embrace him; so, too, the next-door neighbor’s family comes from far away and surprises him to give him strength and courage.  My friends, God’s story of redemption starts now and we need this message now more than ever.  So go back to the text and look at it again for yourself and know that hope and help really is on the way.