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mcdougallunitedinpride · 5 years

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Talk to Me (Christmas Sermon)

Talk to Me

Christmas Sermon

by Gary Simpson

John 1:1-14 (KJV) In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. The same came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all men through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

Bible commentator MacGregor, who wrote the Moffatt Bible Commentary on the book of John comments, “No book in the New Testament has provoked conclusions more diverse than” John’s Gospel.(1) Because I like to search for meaningful applications, not controversy, there are parts of the Gospel of John that I like to avoid, because of the controversy that can come with them. The lectionary schedule, however, does not always let us run away from what is uncomfortable and I think that is generally a good thing. We need to get comfortable with what makes us uncomfortable. Perhaps, that is part of what Christmas means. We learn to be comfortable with family, friends and acquaintances, including those who make us uncomfortable.

The book of John is believed to be the last Gospel written.(2) By the time John was written, the young Christian church had second and third generation believers. John’s Gospel provides more information about Jesus, probably in an attempt to deal with apostasy.(3) The unifying purpose of the Gospel appears to be encouraging people to believe that Jesus is the Son, who came from God.(4)

The term word or logos had a special meaning to Jewish people and to Greeks. Plato considered logos to refer to the “divine mind.”(5) From about 400 to 500 years before Christ, a Greek Philosopher Heraclitus believed that the Logos of God dwelling in people is what gave people a sense of right and wrong. From his perspective, “The Logos was nothing less than the mind of God controlling the world and everyone in it.”(6) John’s message is that in Jesus the Logos, the “illuminating, controlling, sustaining mind of God”, came to earth.(7)

There is a meaning in Greek that gives a slightly different sense. In Greek, we are told, “‘The Word was born flesh.’”(8)

The incarnate word of God or the logos of God shows two insights into John’s theology:

• John believed Jesus was the culmination of the redemption of humanity.

• John thought Jesus was eternal and existed before creation.(9)

Anglican priest, Mund Thompson notes, “‘the word became flesh and pitched his tent among us’. In the Hebrew Scriptures, as the children of Israel were in the desert, “God travelled with them”.(10) As in the wilderness, “in Jesus God pitches his tent amidst our tents and travels with us as we journey through life. God gets involved in our mess.”(11) The old respected Bible commentator, Matthew Henry, comments that Jesus “did not dwell among us as in a palace, but as in a tent”, that Jesus dwelt with us in common circumstances, such as “shepherds that dwell in tents”.(12) I find it interesting that Matthew Henry said Christ dwelt with us like shepherds. A passage in Genesis tells us that the Egyptians considered shepherds to be an abomination.(13) The Egyptians viewed shepherds with contempt and disdain and basically ridiculed shepherds.(14) In many respects, the Messiah took upon Himself the contempt, disdain and hatred experienced by members of oppressed minority groups, because, in part, as a Jewish man, He was a member of a minority group in the Roman Empire.

In this section of John Chapter 1, we see some foreshadowing of what will take place in Jesus' ministry. To a person who was not familiar with Jesus, this is a hint that later in the Gospel people will reject Jesus' ministry, that Jesus will be rejected by His own people.

This sounds like a rather ugly verse to be considering at Christmas. Jesus is rejected by His family. We are supposed to be celebrating Jesus' birth, with the exciting expectation of peace and joy. And the Gospel of John comes along and throws ice cold water on our celebration by letting us know that the eternal Jesus, the creator of the world and the creator of life, will be well received by some people, but his very own people will reject Him.

Good news, life impacting messages do not need to be long dissertations. The core of the good news can be said in fifteen words. The Word became a human being and, full of grace and truth, lived among us (NLT). Those are fifteen words that changed lives and impacted the history of the world. Compare that with some of the famous and influential speeches given in the last two hundred years. My computer program gives me the following word counts:

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address - about 270 words.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech - about 1,600 words.

Lyndon Johnson’s “The American Promise” speech - about 3,700 words.

Winston Churchill’s “This was Their Finest Hour” speech - about 4,400 words.

The Gospel of John summarizes social justice, human dreams, a promise and the hour of spiritual liberation in just 15 words.

Paul Decker tells an interesting story in a sermon that he gave. He says a man found a new physician for his 90 year-old mother, because her family doctor died. The physician examined his mother, turning to the son, he proceeded to discuss the mother’s health. I wish I was as brave as this 90 year-old lady. She interrupted the doctor, asking, “Doctor, do you do crossword puzzles?”

The physician responded, “Yes.”

She followed with a second question. “Do you do them with pencil or pen?”

The physician answered, “With a pencil.”

She responded, “I do mine with a pen, so you can talk to me.”(15)

I am going to take Paul Decerk’s story in a direction that he did not take.

After Moses leads the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt, the law is given to the children of Israel at Sinai. According to the narrative in Deuteronomy, God engraved, with God’s finger, the commandments on stone.(16) The Word was made stone and we got the law. Those stone tablets, containing the 10 commandments, are meaningful, but for many the words on stone were hard and cold and did not adequately show the love of God. At Bethlehem, the Word was made flesh and we got grace. In John’s Christmas story, the Word was made flesh, was made into a warm human body in Jesus. In the Christmas story, God is not aloof. The incarnate God does not talk to another, while ignoring us. Christ walked with humanity, lived with humanity, worked with humanity and talked to humanity.

At Bethlehem, the Word was made flesh and grace abounded. For many people, we are the only Bible they will read. To them, we are the Word of God surrounded by human flesh, the Word made warm, compassionate and caring. The Christmas story challenges us to, in a small way, be like the living Word. We do that when we empower family, friends, colleagues, and the oppressed and impoverished by walking with them and talking with them, instead of just talking about them. So in the spirit of a 90 year-old lady and in the Spirit of God, respect, honor, love and empower people - talk to people.

End Notes

(1)G.H.C. MacGregor. The Moffatt New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John. (Seattle: SOURCE Digital Pub., 2018, First published in 1929), ebook.

(2)Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger, III, eds. NIV Bible Commentary: Vol 2: New Testament. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Pub., 1994), 290.

(3)Barker and Kohlenberger, III. (1994), 290.

(4)Barker and Kohlenberger, III. (1994), 292.

(5)Quest Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Pub. House, 1994), 1466.

(6)William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of John. Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Andrew Press, 2001), ebook.

(7)Barclay. (2001), ebook.

(8)J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. (Pasadena, California: Thru the Bible Radio, 1998), ebook.

(9)Lane T. Dennis, et. al., eds. ESV Study Bible. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008), 2019.

(10)Mund Cargill Thompson. “Slapped in the Face with Love.” Sermon Central. 24 Dec 2017, 13 Dec 2018. <https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/slapped-in-the-face-with-love-fr-mund-cargill-thompson-sermon-on-christmas-227395?ref=SermonSerps>.

(11)Thompson. (2017). <https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/slapped-in-the-face-with-love-fr-mund-cargill-thompson-sermon-on-christmas-227395?ref=SermonSerps>.

(12)Matthew Henry. “Matthew Henry Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete).” Bible Study Tools. n.d., 17 Dec 2018. <https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/john/1.html>.

(13)Genesis 46:34.

(14)Henry. <https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/46.html>.

(15)Paul Decker. “What Did He Say?” Sermon Central. 18 Jun 2002, 14 Dec 2018.

<https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/what-did-he-say-paul-decker-sermon-on-divinity-of-christ-47672?ref=SermonSerps>.

(16)Deuteronomy 9:10 (KJV) And the Lord delivered unto me two tables of stone written with the finger of God; and on them was written according to all the words, which the Lord spake with you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly.

#LGBT #LGBTQ #Christmas #Christian #reflection #sermon

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objectivesubjectivity · 7 years

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In December, I wrote that Adam Duritz was everywhere.

Last week, after listening to my favorite Jewish rapper spit 19 tracks about Toronto, heartbreak, and his mother, I returned to Brooklyn to listen to my other favorite Jewish rappers spit about Tibet, play dubbed out instrumentals, and remind the world that they were once a hardcore punk act.

7 tracks into “Ill Communication,” the unmistakable voice of the abstract poet filled my eardrums:

youtube

While it was a pleasant visit, I had to make my way down to Philly to check out The Roots crew and their third effort, “Illedelph Halflife.” 17 tracks in, I’m grooving out to the rhythms of Questlove and the skills of Black Thought and Malik B, when, all of a sudden, that same smooth tone appears again:

youtube

“Well, that was kinda cool,” I remark to myself as I gather my things to make the trek back to The Apple, this time to Queens, to listen to a rapper poised to set the world on fire. “Illmatic,” is lyrically dense, fueled by poetry, politics and passion and other than a short visit from AZ, Nas is the overwhelming presence on this debut. That is, until, once again, track 7 rolls around:

youtube

Three albums. Three different acts. All in a row. All featuring Q-Tip.

Conclusion: Q-Tip is the Adam Duritz of Hip-Hop.

What I listened to this week:

Top 100 contenders in bold.

Outlast - Idlewild

Pop Unknown - If Arsenic Fails, Try Algebra

Hot Rod Circuit - If I Knew Now What I Knew Then

Piebald - If It Weren't For Venetian Blinds It Would Be Curtain For Us All

Hot Rod Circuit - If It's Cool With You, It's Cool With Me

Fairweather - If They Move... Kill Them

June - If You Speak Any Faster

Belle and Sebastian - If You're Feeling Sinister

Drake - If You're Reading This It's Too Late

Beastie Boys - Ill Communication

The Roots - Illadelph Halflife

Nas - Illmatic

The Appleseed Cast - Illumination Ritual

The Early November - Imbue

The Impossibles - The Impossibles

The Draft - In A Million Pieces

At the Drive-In - In Casino Out

The Early November - In Currents

The City on Film - In Formal Introduction

Coheed and Cambria - In Keeping Secrets of Silent Earth: 3

Jay-Z - In My Lifetime: Vol. 1

Fugazi - In On The Kill Taker

Radiohead - In Rainbows

Saves the Day - In Reverie

N.E.R.D. - In Search Of...

Neutral Milk Hotel - In the Aeroplane Over the Sea

Flu Thirteen - In the Foul Key of V

The Forecast - In the Shadow of Two Gunmen

Led Zeppelin - In Through the Out Door

Less Than Jake - In With the Out Crowd

Albums listened to in total: 772

#Adam Duritz #counting crows #drake #toronto #Beastie Boys #brooklyn #The Roots #philadelphia #nas #queens #q-tip #a tribe called quest #hip-hop #rap #east coast #Obsessions #collections #top 100 #coabba

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religioused · 5 years

Text

Talk to Me

Christmas Sermon

by Gary Simpson

There is a meaning in Greek that gives a slightly different sense. In Greek, we are told, “‘The Word was born flesh.’”(8)

The incarnate word of God or the logos of God shows two insights into John’s theology:

• John believed Jesus was the culmination of the redemption of humanity.

• John thought Jesus was eternal and existed before creation.(9)

Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address - about 270 words.

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech - about 1,600 words.

Lyndon Johnson’s “The American Promise” speech - about 3,700 words.

Winston Churchill’s “This was Their Finest Hour” speech - about 4,400 words.

The Gospel of John summarizes social justice, human dreams, a promise and the hour of spiritual liberation in just 15 words.

The physician responded, “Yes.”

She followed with a second question. “Do you do them with pencil or pen?”

The physician answered, “With a pencil.”

She responded, “I do mine with a pen, so you can talk to me.”(15)

I am going to take Paul Decerk’s story in a direction that he did not take.

End Notes

(1)G.H.C. MacGregor. The Moffatt New Testament Commentary: The Gospel of John. (Seattle: SOURCE Digital Pub., 2018, First published in 1929), ebook.

(2)Kenneth L. Barker and John R. Kohlenberger, III, eds. NIV Bible Commentary: Vol 2: New Testament. (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Pub., 1994), 290.

(3)Barker and Kohlenberger, III. (1994), 290.

(4)Barker and Kohlenberger, III. (1994), 292.

(5)Quest Study Bible (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Pub. House, 1994), 1466.

(6)William Barclay. The New Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of John. Vol. 1 (Edinburgh: Andrew Press, 2001), ebook.

(7)Barclay. (2001), ebook.

(8)J. Vernon McGee. Thru the Bible with J. Vernon McGee. (Pasadena, California: Thru the Bible Radio, 1998), ebook.

(9)Lane T. Dennis, et. al., eds. ESV Study Bible. (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2008), 2019.

(11)Thompson. (2017). <https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/slapped-in-the-face-with-love-fr-mund-cargill-thompson-sermon-on-christmas-227395?ref=SermonSerps>.

(13)Genesis 46:34.

(14)Henry. <https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/genesis/46.html>.

(15)Paul Decker. “What Did He Say?” Sermon Central. 18 Jun 2002, 14 Dec 2018.

<https://www.sermoncentral.com/sermons/what-did-he-say-paul-decker-sermon-on-divinity-of-christ-47672?ref=SermonSerps>.

#Christmas #Sermon

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spynotebook · 7 years

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We’ve run our 11 Best Single Issues Of The Year. Well now, Rich Johnston and the Bleeding Cool writers (not Jude) give you 11 collections and graphic novels to reflect on as we say good riddance to 2016 and welcome 2017 with nervous worry.

Eliot Cole

Doctor Who: A Matter Of Life And Death by George Mann, Emma Vieceli and Hi-Fi.

I don’t have quite as much to say here as I did in my “lack of words” on A-Force #4, but I find this Eighth Doctor collection just the lovely example of (a) comics and (b) what could’ve been with the best of all the doctors. George Mann’s stories are each self contained, following the fantastic journey of Josie, and how she becomes part of Eight’s life. Each story was a book, and was self contained, but lends well to the whole. I wrote 3 sentences on George Mann’s awesome plotting (and such), and having a good take on 8 but they amounted to that word, “awesome.” Emma Vieceli’s trademarked panelling design compel you through this beautifully, I could genuinely read pencils of this quality on anything. Ms. Vieceli is surely meant for the greatest of things. Do yourself a favour and check out Titan’s Eighth Doctor Collection.

Jeremy Konrad

The Fix Vol.1-Where Beagles Dare by Nick Spencer, Lieber, Ryan Hill, and Nic J Shaw

I actually was starting to feel a little burnt out by Image this year. Quite a few of their series were blending together and felt to be covering quite a bit of the same ground. That all changed when I picked up The Fix. This series, with its dry, sarcastic humor and panels that you have to study to catch every little gag in the details very quickly became one of my favorites. And I mean, Pretzels. How can you not love a dog like Pretzels??? Every issue gets better and better, and hopefully it runs for a very long time.

Hannah Means-Shannon

Aleister & Adolf by Douglas Rushkoff, Michael Avon Oeming, and Nate Piekos

This book has been an outlier on many press radars, but it’s one of those densely crafted, significant works that hopefully will be the gift that keeps on giving, showing comic creators and fans what new directions in the medium can be taken. Written by powerhouse social critic Douglas Rushkoff and drawn by the endlessly original Michael Avon Oeming the book tracks a fictional account of Aleister Crowley’s media wars with Adolf Hitler based on a few key historical facts. It follows the life of a young military reporter assigned to Crowley through the course of “sigil” developments, like the swastika by the Nazis and V for Victory by Churchill in the war over human minds during WWII. Rushkoff’s characterization, research, and narrative framing devices, combined with Oeming’s emotive and often highly symbolic artwork make sure this book has something significant to say about the ongoing role of symbolism and propaganda in the way we see the world around us. It might just remind you of the dangers and the positive powers of belief and focus to influence any struggle, even on an international level. Aleister & Adolf may be about the second World War, but it’s highly relevant to our times and makes for a thought-provoking, and at times disturbing, read.

Joe Glass

The Wicked + The Divine Deluxe Hardcover by Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson and Clayton Cowles.

I mean, just look at it.

Let’s not even go into the story or anything yet, just take in this huge, black, hot foiled beauty! You can read comics on your train to work looking like you’re reading out of some mystic grimoire of mystery!

Plus, it contains Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Matthew Wilson and Clayton Cowles’ incredible series of pop stars as gods and the hard price of fame (it kinda kills you in the end, which 2016 proved in force really, didn’t it?). Collecting the first two story arcs, plus loads of behind the scenes materials and a good chunk of Gillen’s breakdowns of the book, it makes for the absolute best purchase for fans of the series.

And it just looks sexy as hell on a book shelf!

Abdulkareem Baba Aminu

Huck by Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque.

Surprising myself, and after a great deal of thought, I have picked Huck Vol. 1 by Mark Millar and Rafael Albuquerque as the best graphic novel/collection for 2016. I started reading the monthly issues, up to the second, and I somehow fell off. But I did know I’d catch up on the trade when it gets released. And boy was I glad I waited. The story, collected, had a pace that was missing during its monthly run, and the character development proved to be near-perfect. Early comparisons to Superman did no justice to the story of a small town resident who’s revealed to have some truly awesome powers, of course with disastrous results. The art – oh, boy the art – is beautiful, aided by perfect colours and it sets the tone the right way. There’s almost a Spielberg-ian sense of wonder and adventure to the tale, enough to make me ignore the irritation that is an editing error which portrayed a factual kidnapping of schoolgirls by insurgents as having happened in East Africa, when the stated Sambisa Forest is in Nigeria, in West Africa. You could say it was personal for me. That aside – and I truly enjoy most of the Millarworld books – Huck is my absolute favorite.

Marilyn Weiss

Nameless City by Faith Erin Hicks

I was so excited for this graphic novel to be released, it was easily one of the highlights of my reading this year. We meet Kaidu, a recent arrival to the Nameless City, and son of the latest ruling clan, Dao. As he trains to become a warrior, his adventurous nature drives him into the city, where he meets up with the lovable, street wise Rat. Hicks did an amazing job creating a detailed world that I would love to explore and get lost in. I can tell that there are so many stories hiding within the city, just waiting to be told. I would gladly hand this book to any fan of comics, be they young or old. The sequel, The Stone Heart will be out in April 2017.

Rich Johnston

Patience by Dan Clowes

I’m a sucker for a post-modern time travel story. See my love for least year’s There’s No Time Like The Present by Paul Rainey. And Dan Clowes gives us actual plottage with Patience. A story of rags to – well not exactly riches, but a different state of being, as the newly pregnant young Patience is murdered, a series of events that destroys her partner, Jack. It’s his attempts to “put right what once went wrong” and the calamitous consequences of his actions, digging his own grave – or Patience’s – deeper and deeper that drive this book forward. Or backwards. Which means you’ll have to reread it the moment you finish for that Sixth Sense experience. But for all that it’s the attitude of Jack, the anti-Hollywood hero that sets this apart, refusing to follow the obvious tropes or experiencing triumphs – or disasters as he may be expected to.

And the devil is always in the details. Clowes has always had a style that grabs the eye, gives it direction and pulls it forward, the narrator grip in full effect. Here every object in every panel could have serious significance that you will need that second – or third reading to pick up on it.

Toward a Hot Jew by Miriam Libicki

You know those overnight sensations who have been working hard at the craft for decades? That’s Miriam Libicki. In something that resembles the missing link between Marjane Satrapi and Joe Sacco, her autobiographical work exploring her Jewish identity, attractiveness and the reaction of those around her, whether as a Israeli soldier or a professor of art, this collection of a decade’s work jumps from illustrated essay to comic book panels, exploring the medium, the tools to create the work and express inner neurosis as beautifully – and as ugly – as possible.

Black Dog: The Dreams of Paul Nash by Dave McKean

Art about art – Dave McKean creating a comic about war artist Paul Nash, and how that artist turned the worst extremes of humanity into art that illuminated the mind. And then how it affected the young Dave McKean, and how his work has existed in relation to that of Paul’s. This is a giant standing on the shoulder of another giant and between them they can see so much about us. An incredibly moving masterpiece, and stands alongside McKean’s Cages, as an exploration of the effect of art on both the viewer and the artist themselves. Psychologically complex and using the very strictures of comic book panels, speech, character positions to demonstrate so much of what we are.

Rolling Blackouts by Sarah Glidden

Another example of comic book journalism, Sarah Glidden takes a trip to the Middle East with an eye on America’s influence on the region, travelling through Syria, Iraq and Turkey. But its also an examination of journalism itself, as Sarah is accompanying two “proper journalists” as they look at the effect of the Iraq War and of its refugees, so it also becomes a procedural for the profession as well – especially when they are joined by a friend and a US soldier who served in Iraq. And it suddenly gets a whole lot more awkward. Something that is made more palatable by Sarah’s soft watercolors, a different look than we might have otherwise expected.

Everyone has a story to tell. It turns out that’s as much true of the journalists as it is those they report on.

Clean Room Vol 1: Immaculate Conception by Gail Simone, Jon Davis-Hunt and Quinton Winter.

For some reason I never find The Walking Dead comic as gross as I do the TV show. I occasionally wondered if that was a creative choice of the limitations of the medium? Well, Clean Room answered that. It really is something very nasty indeed. Writer Gail Simone has rarely been given the chance to operate at this level. And she choosing the tack of making the people far scarier than the Entities that are meant to be threatening them, in terms of the moral choices they hold. Jon Davis-Hunt’s choices of style are also a surprise, eschewing the darkness for something brighter, more visible and cleaner. This is horror with the strip lighting turned up and refusing to blink.

It also takes suicide head on, as something fuelling the survivors, and as psychological as that is, the comic is never afraid to shlock-horror out, embracing that aspect rather than being embarrassed about it. It’s the combination of both approaches that elevates this title above the norm and makes it something special. And the way it buolds from issue only helps the trade paperback – even if you are denied the pain of waiting from month to month for cliffhangers to resolve.

Buy this for the Scientologist in your life. And then get Gail Simone to write Crossed.

Bleeding Cool’s 11 Favourite Graphic Novels/Collections Of 2016

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