John 9:1-41

Matthew 5:13-20

The earliest followers of Jesus were not known by the name “Christian.”  In fact, they were not really known by any name at all. At first, they were simply recognized as people who were following the way of Jesus. They were not all that hard to recognize; the way they treated one another, the way they loved their enemies, the way they offered hope and healing and shared their blessings with neighbors made them easy to spot.

Jesus, who once told his followers “I am the light of the world,” now tells them that they are also to be the light of the world.  They will spread his light to all nations, and they will flavor God’s entire creation as salt flavors a suppertime dish. They will do this by living out their faith in a distinctive, purposeful way.  No labels, no talking points, no partisanship or denominationalism. Just a way of being in the world; a way for the earliest followers of Jesus and a way for all time…even our time.

Today, as we continue the sermon series The Dawning Light of Christ, we hear Jesus’ call to make faith more than a label we use to describe ourselves, or a set of demanding rules by which to live. We are to embody our faith in a distinctive ways, ways that Illuminate and glorify God.

Matthew 5:1-12

A recent television commercial for a battery manufacturer asks the question: would you rather have more power or longer life? The “hook” for the ad is the premise that a sudden power will give you victory in the moment, but down the road you’ll tend run out of energy sooner.

That’s a playful question in the world of digital gaming, but in the real world its the beleaguered and downtrodden—the least and lost among us—which all too often face the same challenging question.  Would I rather have the power to remove this burden I carry and have it lifted from me, or would I rather have the strength to endure the ongoing trial, withstanding its fire and fury until even the trial itself has been fully spent?

Jesus chose the long way, the way of quiet strength and patient endurance. This is also the way Jesus chose for his followers. The true strength of God is not clothed in earthly riches and splendor, nor in the bluster and power of violence and force.  It is eternal in a nature, gentle in spirit, and able to withstand the ups and downs of the ordinary circumstances and desperate moments  life.  

Today we continue our sermon series revealing The Dawning Light of Christ, and celebrate the true nature of God’s own power; it is a power and force we call love, and it offers unyielding light and hope for every dark corner of our world.

The Purpose of United Methodist Women

United Methodist Women shall be a community of women whose purpose is to know God and to experience freedom as whole persons through Jesus Christ; to develop a creative, supportive fellowship; and to expand concepts of mission through participation in the global ministries of the church.

February 21–23, 2020: Annual Women's Retreat
Theme: Come Away
Matthew 11:28-30

We all need rest. Jesus asks us to come away to spend time in His presence. Come spend a weekend filled with community, spiritual growth, and a lot of laughter. You’ll leave refreshed and with a bit less weight on your shoulders!

Our Retreat Leader: Donna Nelson

Donna is a familiar face to the FUMCO family. Besides teaching Sunday School and playing in the Spectrum Bell Choir, she has been known to fill in at the pulpit from time-to-time and provide leadership at retreats for the Wayfarer program. She’s a retired Permanent Deacon in the United Methodist Church as well as a retired teacher from the Anaheim Elementary School District. She works as a private tutor and loves to travel with her family.

The cost for this year’s retreat is $215.00 per person.

Additional Information on UMW Issues

https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/mchealth

https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/racialjustice

https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/climate-justice

https://www.unitedmethodistwomen.org/living-wages

Isaiah 49:1-7

A Call…an invitation…a summons…an overture that demands a response. If the scriptures are clear about one thing, it is that God does not sit idly somewhere on the far side of eternity, distant and detached from creation. The witness of our scriptures is that God gets involved in the world. Suddenly, surprisingly, often startlingly, God intervenes in history and works to bring about his purpose and will. Most often, the intervention of God in creation involves human agents, who work and witness on God’s behalf.

Another thing about which scriptures seem clear is that to be called by God will rattle you a bit. Those whom God calls are portrayed in the scriptures as reluctant, dismayed, even on occasion initially disobedient.  It is no easy thing to be called by God, even when—as is the case with the first people Jesus encountered in his public ministry—we are asked to simply put down our current projects and follow. The call to follow Jesus is a call away from fame and fortune…it is a call to servanthood, sacrifice, sweat…a call to become like Christ Jesus himself.

Difficult or not, follow we must if we are to know the peace of God. And so this Sunday, a call is being issued to serve God for the coming year by serving God’s congregation at First UMC of Orange, as an Associate In Ministry. Many who worship this day are called, or will be, to other mission fields and other endeavors. But for a handful, today is a powerful day of invitation, of summons…of call.

Matthew 3:13-17

This Sunday we begin a new sermon series: The Dawning Light of Christ. Into a creation shrouded in the dark gloom of Sin and scarred by evil, God sent Jesus, his only begotten Son, to be the light of the world.  Wherever the light of God shines in the dark recesses of life, the darkness flees and cannot overcome the light. In mercy, God chose not to stab the eyes of the world with a sudden, blinding flash of his radiant glory, like someone throwing open the drapes of an unsuspecting sleeper on a brilliant sunlit morning. God’s light came into the world gradually, like the dawn light at the beginning of the day.

Today’s Gospel lesson affirms that Jesus is the Son of God, and that Jesus has come to fulfill all righteousness. God’s people have always had a tenuous relationship with the laws of God. In them we see the potential, the power, the perfection of God’s desire for humanity. At the same time, we see how far short we are from attaint that potential, power and perfection. We have the law, but our righteousness remains unfulfilled.

It’s hard to even notice Jesus as he stands in the Jordan, surrounded by a thousand other seekers and repenters. But Matthew calls our attention to the scene, as if to say “look again, and see!  The light of God’s love is here…small and faint and dim, but growing in the world.”

2 Thessalonians 2:1-5, 13-17

The Church in Thessalonica was in crisis. They had at first joyfully embraced the Gospel of Jesus under Paul’s teaching, and were enthralled by the promise that Christ Jesus would soon return in glory. But after Paul had left them, a season of persecution and suffering had set in, a hardship that was over time was growing more severe, not less.  The Thessalonian Church was able to cope at first by holding out hope that Jesus would come at any moment. “There may be suffering,” they seemed to say, “but we can hold out for awhile…Jesus will come soon.”

But days ran into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. The persecutions remained, members of their fellowship began to pass away…and still they had to wait. A kind of faith-crisis emerged when some meddlers came to Thessalonica with the startling message that Jesus had already come, and the Thessalonians had missed the event.  Even Paul, they said, had certified that this was true. The Thessalonians were devastated and frightened to hear that they had missed out.

Paul, in his love for them, wrote swiftly and forcefully to tell them they were being misled and to remind them that the surest way to know the fullness of Christ when he comes in glory is to tend to Christ’s work in this present age, submitting to the Holy Spirit and growing from day to day into the likeness of Christ himself.

Luke 18:9-14

Who are your models? Who do you measure yourself against? If you want to become a better person or better at your job, you “compare up.” You look for someone who inspires you, someone who could teach you a thing of two—a mentor. On the other hand, the Pharisee in the story from Luke 18 wants God to see him in the best possible light and compares himself down to the lowest available strata on the social spectrum and leaves himself to shine. Pride is best buddies with insecurity.

It’s very American to keep track of comparisons. It’s also a trap. In social media, we’re set up to see an ongoing feed of how well and prosperous and happy everybody else is and so we upgrade our online image to keep up (#lookatme).

And then, there’s Jesus who calls us to live one life and live it out in the open. His name for that is purity of heart, and his reward for that is a rich and fulfilling blessing in life. 

Luke 18:1-8

When Jesus assured the disciples that “faith the size of a mustard seed” could accomplish mighty works, he introduced a core principle of God’s Kingdom: the movement of God’s grace is from lesser things to greater things. God’s love moves us from places of sin and darkness into God’s glorious light. Through grace we go from moments of imperfect justice and “unrighteous judges” to a realm where God’s justice flows like water, and righteousness like an everlasting stream. In God’s Kingdom, the landscape of this world’s searing violence, discord, and war gives way to the high meadows of God’s country, where steadfast love and faithfulness shall meet, and righteousness and peace shall kiss each other.

On one hand, the characters in today’s simple parable from Jesus—a powerless widow and and unrighteous judge who couldn’t care less about her—reveal the imperfections and flaws in our present world.  On the other hand, it is a story that reminds us that even in this flawed world grace gets its foot in the door, and through persistence, some small measure of justice can be found. From this “lesser” version of justice we derive so much hope, for the greater truth is that God’s deepest desire is to fully vindicate all of his children.

Luke 17:5-10

This sermon was not supplemented with a written reflection.