1 SERMON Matthew 24:36-44 First Lutheran Church Rev. Darrell J. Pedersen Aitkin, Minnesota December 1, 2013 KIDS MESSAGE Please turn out all of the lights in the sanctuary. Kids, it s kind of dark in here. If it wasn t for the light coming from that big window up there, it could be totally dark in here. Let s see if turning on this little flashlight will make it a little lighter. Yes. Let s turn on another flashlight. Lighter? Yes. Another flashlight. Yes, lighter. Boy if every one of us had a flashlight, we could brighten this place up pretty well. Kids, we are in the season of Advent. This is the season where we light one candle the first week and every week after that we light one more. Candles remind us of light shining in the darkness. We sometimes think of darkness as a reminder that things are not always good in our world. In Advent we are reminded that Jesus, the Light of the World, was born on the first Christmas. In Advent we remember that Jesus promised to come back some day to put an end to darkness and to help us live in the light of God s love forever. No more bad things, trouble, or tears. Instead joy, celebration, peace and love forever. If we all had a flashlight to shine, we could brighten this place up pretty well. Kids, we all do have a little light to shine. Each of us has Jesus living in us. Each of us has the light of God s love shining in us. Each of us has been given the gift of fighting the bad in the world and of helping the good in the world. What happens after we have lit all four candles on our Advent wreath? What day comes next? Christmas! We celebrate Jesus birthday. Jesus comes to be Light in each and all of our lives. That window up there is a picture of God coming into our lives at our baptisms. Our God is light. When we are in a bad place, having a bad time, lonely, afraid or don t know what to do Jesus shines in our hearts to drive back the darkness, to help us to get to a better place. And when Jesus comes again, for all to see, there will be no more darkness, sadness or death. Happy Advent kids! Thanks be to God. Amen.
2 ADULT MESSAGE Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, woke up one morning back in 1888 and read his own obituary in the newspaper. Actually, Nobel s brother had died. Of course Alfred was upset to see that he was listed as dead. But he was even more shocked when he read what the reporter had written about him. He described Nobel as the dynamite King, who had gotten rich manufacturing and selling weapons of destruction. This is all the general public knew about the man. Nobel s hard work to break down barriers that separated people and ideas was not mentioned. He was simply a merchant of death and that is how he would be remembered. While reading that obituary, Alfred Nobel resolved that he was going to make clear to the world what the true meaning and intentions of his life were. He decided to commit his fortune to giving prizes to those who did the most for the cause of world peace. (From Reading Your Own Obituary by Nicholas Halasz, in Creative Brooding, The Macmillan Company, New York, 1967.) As you know, those awards are still being given in encouragement of world peace to this very day, 125 years later. The Nobel peace prize started just about the time some other Swedes started First Lutheran Church here in Aitkin One man, famous for destruction, decided to make his life count for peace. The people at First Lutheran decided to do the same. Pat Summitt was a star high school girls basketball player; won All-American honors while playing at the University of Tennessee-Martin, won a silver medal as a player in the 1976 Olympics and coached the 1984American team to gold. She has won more games than any other college coach in America. She has coached the Lady Volunteers of Knoxville, Tennessee to 8 national championships. At age 59, she was diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer s. Her son, Tyler, said, It was very sad. But at the same time, I knew God had a plan. Must be some faith involved there someplace Coach Pat Summit, instead of going into hiding, began to pour all of her energy into battling Alzheimer s. She set up a foundation to raise money for research
3 and education. She travels all over the country speaking. Pat s 27 year assistant coach, Holly Warwick said Pat coming out has allowed other people to come out and be comfortable with saying they re battling Alzheimer s or dementia. One of the commissioners from the Big Eight Conference says, I think God has given her this platform and she is not shrinking away. There s that faith business again Now, at age 62, Pat Summit herself says, I hope I can encourage others living with Alzheimer s disease to continue living their lives. Keep fighting, keep living, keep making the most of every day. One woman, famous for amazing basketball victories, now facing death by Alzheimer s has committed the rest of her life to fighting for a cure on behalf of those who come after her Doing the best she can with what God has given her that s what Stewardship is all about Neither Alfred Nobel, nor Pat Summitt were forced to make the decision to make their lives count for something before they died. But they did. They both committed to work for the improvement of life and the world for others that s stewardship. Jesus, in our Gospel text for today, speaks about the last day on earth for God s people. This could be a fearful word. Jesus uses the Noah and the Ark account to describe how surprised people can be when God comes and acts in our midst. Jesus describes how people were simply doing their everyday work and activities and missed God s arrival to their own destruction. Jesus goes on to point out that another day is coming when Jesus will return to once-and-for-all rescue God s people from sin, evil and death. Jesus will be coming to bring God s people home. That is a good news promise. That is something to look forward to, not to fear. That is the good news that we have been given to share with a lonely and drifting world. God doesn t want anyone to be lost and alone. Jesus says that his second coming will be a surprise. All of us know something about surprises good ones and bad ones. We have seen on television or experienced in our own lives untold times when people are caught off guard tornadoes, forest fires, earth quakes, house fires, blizzards, miscarriages, divorces,
4 lost jobs, heart attacks, death of a loved one And we do everything in our power to be prepared for such things health, life and fire insurance. What kinds of things are fearsome to you right now? Are you totally prepared for unforeseen circumstances? Is everything going to be just fine in your future? For your family? We don t know In our Gospel text, Jesus promises to come again to rescue all of God s people from whatever the world has thrown at us. Jesus promises, right now, to be both with us and for us. This is not a promise that we won t see trouble. But it is the promise that we won t face trouble alone. We light Advent candles in this season. Advent is the reminder that Jesus came once at Christmas two thousand years ago. Advent is also the reminder that Jesus is coming again to make all things right and to restore all of us to a love/trust relationship with God that has no end in time and no limit to joy and celebration. Jesus, the Light of the World, shines in our darkness. And the darkness will never overcome him. That is the promise that we claim today as children of God, as sisters and brothers of Jesus. Our eternal life is taken care of as a Christmas/baptismal gift from our Loving God. Jesus is our constant companion, supporter and encourager. We have no need to fear this world or our God because Jesus has a good firm hold on us. Therefore, we are set free to be stewards of God s world and our neighbor. Stewardship is not about the church begging for money. Stewardship is about us answering God s invitation to wisely and graciously care for all that God has entrusted into our keeping. Someone once said, Stewardship is everything that we do after we say, I believe. Are you afraid of your last day or are you confident and hopeful for what God has in store for you? Do you trust that God is faithfully present in your everyday life right now? Do you trust that God will give you ultimate deliverance and victory even over death? Believing these things, sets you free to focus upon God s love for you and then upon God s love for your neighbor and the whole creation. You are set free to make a Godly, life-giving difference with your life.
5 Alfred Nobel s will has enabled him to contribute to our world even 125 years later. My wife Jennifer and I have a will too. Our will calls for 10% of our estate to be given to Luther Seminary, Camp Vermilion and to Luther Crest Bible Camp. For many years now, we have given away 10% of our income to make a difference through our own congregation and through Salvation Army, Relay for Life, Habitat for Humanity, Lutheran World Relief, etc. Jesus will come again in ordinary days, while we are going about our regular life responsibilities. Jennifer and I didn t start owning a house until we had been married for 20 years. Our mortgage will be paid off when I am 89 years old. We made medical payments on our first daughter s birth bills until she was eight years old. We owe tens of thousands of dollars for our kids college education. My 1998 Honda has 205,000 miles on it. Our new truck is 8 years old. None of us knows what tomorrow will bring. But we do know that Jesus will be there for us come hell or high water. And we do know that our last day is safe and secure in God s hands. And we do know that, in the meantime, God has invited us to make a Godly difference in God s world with our lives. I received this email from Sue and Dave Benson this past Monday. Yesterday was a tough day Dave s mom passed away around midnight last night. When we first arrived she was still somewhat aware. The words of our (choir) anthem, Lead On O King Eternal, were floating through my head and I started singing them. Through days of preparation your grace has made us strong; and now, O King eternal, we lift our battle song. And holiness shall whisper the sweet Amen of peace. I like to think she heard the singing and was comforted by the words This First Lutheran faith family has gone through some difficult times in recent years. We are on the mend. We are being renewed in strength and in mission. Old friends who were gone for a while are rejoining us. New friends are coming too. Our children and youth are receiving renewed attention from Pastor Mellissa and a whole cadre of caring adult mentors and teachers. Our older folks are
6 receiving renewed attention from Pastor Bob. We have renewed our commitment to making a Godly difference in Aitkin and in the world beyond. Together we are looking up and heading forward into God s future for us. Our mission for the year 2014 will be a stretch for the people of God here at First Lutheran. God will be stretching with us. Your faithful prayers, presence and support are very much needed. God will help you and us. Thanks for how you will be using your life and resources to partner with Jesus in the year ahead. Thanks be to God. Amen.