The central idea is that Jesus has the most complete yet challenging answer to the question "Who is Worthy?" Let's look at Jesus’ incarnation, Jesus’ actions, Jesus’ teachings, and Jesus’ death and resurrection. We can only conclude that Jesus has the authority from God to deem us all worthy. Not because of our works, but because of Jesus’ faith.

A Black History of Resilience, Freedom, Faith, and the Mask

February 20, 2022 Jason Isbell

The New World of the What-Do-Ya-Call-Its and Do-Nothing Days

February 13, 2022 Jason Isbell

Exodus 16:1-31 (CEB)

16 The whole Israelite community set out from Elim and came to the Sin desert, which is located between Elim and Sinai. They set out on the fifteenth day of the second month after they had left the land of Egypt. 2 The whole Israelite community complained against Moses and Aaron in the desert. 3 The Israelites said to them, “Oh, how we wish that the Lord had just put us to death while we were still in the land of Egypt. There we could sit by the pots cooking meat and eat our fill of bread. Instead, you’ve brought us out into this desert to starve this whole assembly to death.”

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I’m going to make bread rain down from the sky for you. The people will go out each day and gather just enough for that day. In this way, I’ll test them to see whether or not they follow my Instruction. 5 On the sixth day, when they measure out what they have collected, it will be twice as much as they collected on other days.” 6 So Moses and Aaron said to all the Israelites, “This evening you will know that it was the Lord who brought you out of the land of Egypt. 7 And in the morning you will see the Lord’s glorious presence, because your complaints against the Lord have been heard. Who are we? Why blame us?” 8 Moses continued, “The Lord will give you meat to eat in the evening and your fill of bread in the morning because the Lord heard the complaints you made against him. Who are we? Your complaints aren’t against us but against the Lord.”

9 Then Moses said to Aaron, “Say to the whole Israelite community, ‘Come near to the Lord, because he’s heard your complaints.’” 10 As Aaron spoke to the whole Israelite community, they turned to look toward the desert, and just then the glorious presence of the Lord appeared in the cloud.

11 The Lord spoke to Moses, 12 “I’ve heard the complaints of the Israelites. Tell them, ‘At twilight you will eat meat. And in the morning you will have your fill of bread. Then you will know that I am the Lord your God.’”

13 In the evening a flock of quail flew down and covered the camp. And in the morning there was a layer of dew all around the camp. 14 When the layer of dew lifted, there on the desert surface were thin flakes, as thin as frost on the ground. 15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, “What is it?” They didn’t know what it was.

Moses said to them, “This is the bread that the Lord has given you to eat. 16 This is what the Lord has commanded: ‘Collect as much of it as each of you can eat, one omer per person. You may collect for the number of people in your household.’” 17 The Israelites did as Moses said, some collecting more, some less. 18 But when they measured it out by the omer, the ones who had collected more had nothing left over, and the ones who had collected less had no shortage. Everyone collected just as much as they could eat. 19 Moses said to them, “Don’t keep any of it until morning.” 20 But they didn’t listen to Moses. Some kept part of it until morning, but it became infested with worms and stank. Moses got angry with them. 21 Every morning they gathered it, as much as each person could eat. But when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

22 On the sixth day the people collected twice as much food as usual, two omers per person. All the chiefs of the community came and told Moses. 23 He said to them, “This is what the Lord has said, ‘Tomorrow is a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the Lord. Bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. But you can set aside and keep all the leftovers until the next morning.’” 24 So they set the leftovers aside until morning, as Moses had commanded. They didn’t stink or become infested with worms. 25 The next day Moses said, “Eat it today, because today is a Sabbath to the Lord. Today you won’t find it out in the field. 26 Six days you will gather it. But on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be nothing to gather.”

27 On the seventh day some of the people went out to gather bread, but they found nothing. 28 The Lord said to Moses, “How long will you refuse to obey my commandments and instructions? 29 Look! The Lord has given you the Sabbath. Therefore, on the sixth day he gives you enough food for two days. Each of you should stay where you are and not leave your place on the seventh day.” 30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

31 The Israelite people called it manna. It was like coriander seed, white, and tasted like honey wafers.

Expected King & Waiting People

February 6, 2022 Jason Isbell

The Big Question!

Lk leads us with crowds through Nazareth, Capernaum, Opposition, Calling, Sermon. Centurion’s faith, Widow’s son: “Great prophet, God visiting his people.” Leads to John’s question with revealing reflections. John is in prison for courage against Herod Antipas. He is training his own disciples. He’s loves the desert, fasting. Jesus is at banquets, not fasting, etc. John told of him with fire and judgment.

John knows Jesus, but he’s disconcerting. Jn sends his question directly to Jesus: ‘Are you the one who is coming?’ Israel’s story & scripture throb in its words.

An Answer in Deeds that Challenge Us to Recognize God

Jes could say, ‘Yes, I am.’ ‘How could you ask?’ But Jes understands the question & knows the answer changes the world. He answers with actions. But even marvels must be a language to be an answer. Jes enacts words of Isaiah, Malachi. etc.

Jes’ deeds say God’s ancient promises are here. Only the Messiah/God could do it. God’s image comes to new, surprising clarity. Very disconcerting. Don’t stumble!

Looking for a King in the Wilderness

Jes knows the crowds carry the same question/quest. They went out to John looking for a Messiah, an anointed King. Jesus pushes them to think deeply. They went into the wilderness seeking... What? A reed (Herod)? King? A prophet! John’s own identity partly answered his question. He was gateway to a new era. He welcomed ordinary people, soldiers, tax collectors. Last prophet of the old, pointing to new.

Pharisees rejecting John led to rejecting Jesus, refusing God’s good purpose for them.

John and Jesus, Different, Caricatured – Both Come from God

People want God to be tidy with short clear answers. Who is coming? John came. Jesus came. Very different look, sharing the same great event, different roles.

People had ready boxes for them. But what God is doing is vast, complex, real, beautiful, life-giving. You have to see it, live inside it. Wisdom & justice shine.

Authority and Faith to Give Life

January 30, 2022 Jason Isbell

The authority and power that is embodied in your word is something I can recognize as authority, but it is of a wholly greater realm than the hierarchy I know and live. It gives life and health. It creates life.
I see it. I recognize it. I know it’s real.

Simply say a word. That word will carry the gift of life across any distance, up and down any human hierarchy. That word gives life.

That recognition of the reality of God’s creative, life-giving authority and power in Jesus, the very presence of God in Jesus, that recognition, Jesus say, is “such a great Faith.” It is not defined by grasping details of doctrine or imposing rigorous practices useful though those may be. It is seeing, recognizing, knowing – in heart and mind and body, philosophically, emotionally, aesthetically, analytically, musically, with every part of my being – that here among us is the God who created us, sustains our life, who has loved and will love us forever.

That’s where Jesus is leading his disciples and every one of us.

Notice, Luke doesn’t even tell us that Jesus spoke a word. Those who’d been sent, Jewish elders and friends, simply returned. God had intervened, health and life had broken out. That slave was alive, thriving.

A Great Prophet has risen among us. God has visited his people. Amen.

Out of Pharaoh’s Dream

January 23, 2022 Jason Isbell

Scripture Reading 01.23.22 Exodus 1:1-14; 2:23-25

1 These are the names of the children of Israel who came to Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,

4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 All the descendants of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and sisters and all that generation.
7 But the people of Israel were fruitful and increased greatly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, so that the land was filled with them.

8 Now there arose a new king over Egypt, who did not know Joseph.
9 And he said to his people, “Behold, the people of Israel are too many and too mighty for us.10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply, and, if war breaks out, they join our enemies and fight against us and escape from the land.”
11 Therefore they set taskmasters over them to afflict them with heavy burdens. They built for Pharaoh store cities, Pithom and Raamses. 12 But the more they were oppressed, the more they multiplied and the more they spread abroad. And the Egyptians were in dread of the people of Israel.

13 So they ruthlessly made the children of Israel work as slaves 14 and made their lives bitter with hard service,
in mortar and brick, and in all kinds of service in the field.
In all their work they ruthlessly made them work as slaves...

...Ex. 2:23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God.
24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.

25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

Life More Abundantly: Deconstruction, Disruption & Martin Luther King, Jr.

January 16, 2022 Jason Isbell

Now that he is safely dead,
Let us praise him.
Build monuments to his glory.
Sing Hosannas to his name.

Dead men make such convenient heroes.
For they cannot rise to challenge the images
That we might fashion from their lives.
It is easier to build monuments
Than to build a better world.

So now that he is safely dead,
We, with eased consciences will
Teach our children that he was a great man,
Knowing that the cause for which he
Lived is still a cause
And the dream for which he died is still a dream.
A dead man’s dream.

By: Carl Wendell Hines Jr.

A Trained Disciple with a Solid House

January 9, 2022 Jason Isbell

Extraordinary Teaching for Ordinary People

We join Luke again as he lead us to see Jesus in the Sermon on the Plain (Lk 6).

Crowds of people in need, hopeful, hurting, expecting, but what? healing, glory,
Remember how amazing Jesus’ teaching is in this sermon: love of enemies, rejection of possessiveness; generosity without expectation, etc.

But these words are for ordinary people of all kinds. Jesus knows well that his hearers, even apostles, are sinful – “blind.” But still he sees them as growing, learning as disciples, coming to full formation so that they are like Jesus himself.

Only One God! Really?

January 2, 2022 Jason Isbell

Use life for what matters – today, this year. As you learn the reality of this God of love, seek his kingdom in this world and as far as you can reach. It’s beyond you or any of us. God will bring it about, but we can align ourselves with that grace and love. Practice God’s faithfulness and justice in all the relationships you touch or can influence. You are a beloved child of God. Use your life to let that love you’ve received flow to others. That’s how to make a year and a life.

Holy Longing: Already & Not Yet (Advent 5)

December 26, 2021 Jason Isbell

The presence of the Spirit does not take away the suffering or it power. But it changes it. The Spirit is the beginning, the “first-fruit” as Paul calls it, of that surprising, new creation, new life. The suffering in all its excruciating variety is part of death, part of mortality, part of “the slavery of being corrupted” that all of creation experiences.

It is a crucial part of the whole story, but not the end of the story. That is the Good News of the Gospel. Jesus ultimately conquers death. We’re allowed by God’s grace to share in him and in that way to share in his victory.

But now it’s in the midst of a suffering world that we bear witness to his incarnation, bear witness to his cross, and bear witness to his resurrection. The Spirit is the first experience, as much as we can bear in this body, to the full experience of being God’s children as God will ultimately reveal.

Then the surprise! The great “Not Yet” that we can’t even fully imagine. Evidently this body, so vulnerable that we sit in this room wearing masks even fully vaccinated, can be recreated by our Abba to truly share in his glorious life with all the self-giving love we see in Jesus.

This is the hope that carries us through that bears the weight of our lives. We journey with God into the future. God gives us his Spirit now. We still endure suffering but we live joyfully by that Spirit.