STM: Torchbearers
Epiphany 2
Torchbearers
Today, I think the Olympic Torch is in Sacramento, California, on a journey to Salt Lake City, the site of the winter Olympics. Torch was lit at Mount Olympus in Greece. It will be passed through 46 states in this country, covering 13,500 miles over 65 days. It will passed from hand to hand between 11,500 torchbearers. The torch itself is meant to stay lit. It was designed by an engineer in Georgia and made to withstand extreme cold, extreme heat, wind, rain, snow, being dropped.
And each of the torchbearers carrying this durable light goes .2 miles before they pass it on to another person. The cast of characters bearing this torch range from Lance Armstrong, three-time winner of the Tour de France, Bonnie Blair, Olympic gold medalist speed skater. But also common folk like my friend Bob Appel, president of the council of the church I served in Texas, a noted volunteer, but regular guy. The torch is being borne in memory of those loved ones lost in the September 11th terrorist attack. People with injury and disease and disability are carrying the torch, representative of their hope. Fathers are running with sons. A 102 year old woman went the first half of her leg in a wheelchair, and the second half in a walker before she passed the torch on to another person.
These are folks of all colors and creeds and size and ability. All carrying the torch passing it one hand to the next, one hand to the next, keeping it lit and aloft. And the light will finally ignite a cauldron of light in Salt Lake City, which will inaugurate the Olympic games. An event to which all nations gather in peace.
What a tremendous illustration for the light which we are called to carry as Christians . What a metaphor for our call to bear the light of Christ, the light which reveals the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Son of God, the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. The Messiah, the Savior.
In our gospel text today, John the Baptist, who had many followers who saw in him the window to God's promise. . . John the Baptist passed the torch. "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The disciple Andrew received the torch and proclaimed, "We have found the Messiah." To Peter who would later proclaim of Jesus, "You are the Messiah, the Son of God." Who would later stumble with the torch, "I do not know the man. I do not know him. I do not know the man." Yet who was later to recover and proclaim the coming of Christ to the crowds at Pentecost.
Just as John the Baptist and Andrew and Peter and the disciples and Paul, and the saints and martyrs, the vaunted ones and common folk . . just like them, we are torchbearers in this generation.
Now we, friends, are the torchbearers. Someone has passed this torch to you. A parent, a grandparent, a Sunday School teacher, a youth leader, a pastor, a friend. This torch has been passed from heart to heart, from generation to generation, across all communities. The light that this torch bears is the light of hope and forgiveness and healing and new life. This is the torch that we bear, this is the light that has shone in your life, and revealed to you and for you the path of Christ's promise.
Now, these torchbearers had many names for Jesus meant to convey some understanding of his person and purpose. "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." "The Son of God." "The Messiah". All in these short verses here. What is he to you, this Jesus? The Lamb of God who assures you of your forgiveness and opens for you a new path in your life? The Son of God, the one in whom awe and wonder can be invested, yet one who shares our humanity even unto death, and comes among us to show us the way, to bear healing in his words and his hands and his love. The Messiah, in whom great hope lies, who comes to raise the standard where others have fallen short, who confirms hope and brings justice and liberates the imprisoned. Who is this Jesus to you? Consider that. Meditate on that. Define again in your heart and in your life what this Jesus means to you. It's a marvelous spiritual exercise to understand and articulate anew the touch of Christ in your life. And then, consider how that experience, that word might benefit another. And invite them, as the disciple Philip, to come and see. Pass the torch.
The wonder and beauty of bearing this torch is that when we pass it on, the light never leaves us, continues to open the way for us and reveal to us God's intention and to sustain us in our trouble, and to meet us in our joy and to light our path. What a tremendous gift it is to pass on, this light which the darkness cannot overcome.
It's a funny thing how this doesn't come easy to us, sharing our faith. Some say that religion is a private matter. That's a false understanding. It's personal, but never private. The salvation of God through Christ is a gift meant for the whole world. We surely are happy to tell people of our favorite restaurants, our favorite barber, or where to get your eyes tested or your teeth cleaned. We are quick to invite others to our social gatherings and clubs. It is not true, is it, for our extension of invitation to share in this journey? Yet in this invitation we bear the torch.
It might be that we all figure that we are not Peter or John the Baptist. We may feel intimidated to share this word. That need not be. Andrew was a quiet and retiring disciple, always living in the shadow of his big brother, Peter. Yet it is his voice we hear today proclaiming the coming of the Messiah.
We have countless opportunities in our relationships with family, and friends and coworkers to invite them to come and see. We have a marvelous Wednesday night adult Bible study which is close to overflowing creating delicious problems of considerations of space. Invite someone to come and see why believers would get together and read the word and share what it means in their lives. We have three worship services every week. Invite someone to come and see why you would take time out of your week to come in and be renewed and refreshed and to consider God's word, to seek healing and comfort. Sunday morning we dedicate to Sunday School where the gospel is taught systematically, laying a foundation for youth and shared with in a lively adult group. This Wednesday night we begin a youth ministry called CrossTraining, designed to steep our young people in the faith, giving them opportunities for Christian nurture in an intergenerational setting, a time when kids can sing and play and share together. Invitee someone to come and see why you would want to be a part of that. Our Senior High youth joined last Sunday with over 175 other Christian youth to share in Christian music, to hear Christian speakers and to be in fellowship with one another. What is this Jesus to you and how can that realization be passed to another, how can you pass that torch?
We are the torchbearers of this generation, carrying this light which has passed over the years and miles through the extremes of persecution and apathy, which is lights the way, is still held aloft.
We are the torchbearers for this generation and it is not without its urgency. All of us know some who live in darkness or despair, whose hearts are broken, who have no community, who have not understanding that there is one through whom all things give way so that we may know God's peace.
I just read a study from the City University of New York, which says the number of folks who say that have a religious center is dropping, that the number of people who call themselves Christians is declining. . .the American Religious Identification Survey says that those calling themselves Christians dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 77 percent in 2001. This is not about numbers and us and them, but about those who lives can be lit by this torch . . . declining.
Who is this Jesus to you? Why does he matter? Tell someone. Invite them to come and see. Pass the torch. Amen
Copyright (c) 2002 by Pastor Robert J. Rasmus
Torchbearers
Today, I think the Olympic Torch is in Sacramento, California, on a journey to Salt Lake City, the site of the winter Olympics. Torch was lit at Mount Olympus in Greece. It will be passed through 46 states in this country, covering 13,500 miles over 65 days. It will passed from hand to hand between 11,500 torchbearers. The torch itself is meant to stay lit. It was designed by an engineer in Georgia and made to withstand extreme cold, extreme heat, wind, rain, snow, being dropped.
And each of the torchbearers carrying this durable light goes .2 miles before they pass it on to another person. The cast of characters bearing this torch range from Lance Armstrong, three-time winner of the Tour de France, Bonnie Blair, Olympic gold medalist speed skater. But also common folk like my friend Bob Appel, president of the council of the church I served in Texas, a noted volunteer, but regular guy. The torch is being borne in memory of those loved ones lost in the September 11th terrorist attack. People with injury and disease and disability are carrying the torch, representative of their hope. Fathers are running with sons. A 102 year old woman went the first half of her leg in a wheelchair, and the second half in a walker before she passed the torch on to another person.
These are folks of all colors and creeds and size and ability. All carrying the torch passing it one hand to the next, one hand to the next, keeping it lit and aloft. And the light will finally ignite a cauldron of light in Salt Lake City, which will inaugurate the Olympic games. An event to which all nations gather in peace.
What a tremendous illustration for the light which we are called to carry as Christians . What a metaphor for our call to bear the light of Christ, the light which reveals the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, the Son of God, the one who baptizes with the Holy Spirit. The Messiah, the Savior.
In our gospel text today, John the Baptist, who had many followers who saw in him the window to God's promise. . . John the Baptist passed the torch. "Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." The disciple Andrew received the torch and proclaimed, "We have found the Messiah." To Peter who would later proclaim of Jesus, "You are the Messiah, the Son of God." Who would later stumble with the torch, "I do not know the man. I do not know him. I do not know the man." Yet who was later to recover and proclaim the coming of Christ to the crowds at Pentecost.
Just as John the Baptist and Andrew and Peter and the disciples and Paul, and the saints and martyrs, the vaunted ones and common folk . . just like them, we are torchbearers in this generation.
Now we, friends, are the torchbearers. Someone has passed this torch to you. A parent, a grandparent, a Sunday School teacher, a youth leader, a pastor, a friend. This torch has been passed from heart to heart, from generation to generation, across all communities. The light that this torch bears is the light of hope and forgiveness and healing and new life. This is the torch that we bear, this is the light that has shone in your life, and revealed to you and for you the path of Christ's promise.
Now, these torchbearers had many names for Jesus meant to convey some understanding of his person and purpose. "The Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world." "The Son of God." "The Messiah". All in these short verses here. What is he to you, this Jesus? The Lamb of God who assures you of your forgiveness and opens for you a new path in your life? The Son of God, the one in whom awe and wonder can be invested, yet one who shares our humanity even unto death, and comes among us to show us the way, to bear healing in his words and his hands and his love. The Messiah, in whom great hope lies, who comes to raise the standard where others have fallen short, who confirms hope and brings justice and liberates the imprisoned. Who is this Jesus to you? Consider that. Meditate on that. Define again in your heart and in your life what this Jesus means to you. It's a marvelous spiritual exercise to understand and articulate anew the touch of Christ in your life. And then, consider how that experience, that word might benefit another. And invite them, as the disciple Philip, to come and see. Pass the torch.
The wonder and beauty of bearing this torch is that when we pass it on, the light never leaves us, continues to open the way for us and reveal to us God's intention and to sustain us in our trouble, and to meet us in our joy and to light our path. What a tremendous gift it is to pass on, this light which the darkness cannot overcome.
It's a funny thing how this doesn't come easy to us, sharing our faith. Some say that religion is a private matter. That's a false understanding. It's personal, but never private. The salvation of God through Christ is a gift meant for the whole world. We surely are happy to tell people of our favorite restaurants, our favorite barber, or where to get your eyes tested or your teeth cleaned. We are quick to invite others to our social gatherings and clubs. It is not true, is it, for our extension of invitation to share in this journey? Yet in this invitation we bear the torch.
It might be that we all figure that we are not Peter or John the Baptist. We may feel intimidated to share this word. That need not be. Andrew was a quiet and retiring disciple, always living in the shadow of his big brother, Peter. Yet it is his voice we hear today proclaiming the coming of the Messiah.
We have countless opportunities in our relationships with family, and friends and coworkers to invite them to come and see. We have a marvelous Wednesday night adult Bible study which is close to overflowing creating delicious problems of considerations of space. Invite someone to come and see why believers would get together and read the word and share what it means in their lives. We have three worship services every week. Invite someone to come and see why you would take time out of your week to come in and be renewed and refreshed and to consider God's word, to seek healing and comfort. Sunday morning we dedicate to Sunday School where the gospel is taught systematically, laying a foundation for youth and shared with in a lively adult group. This Wednesday night we begin a youth ministry called CrossTraining, designed to steep our young people in the faith, giving them opportunities for Christian nurture in an intergenerational setting, a time when kids can sing and play and share together. Invitee someone to come and see why you would want to be a part of that. Our Senior High youth joined last Sunday with over 175 other Christian youth to share in Christian music, to hear Christian speakers and to be in fellowship with one another. What is this Jesus to you and how can that realization be passed to another, how can you pass that torch?
We are the torchbearers of this generation, carrying this light which has passed over the years and miles through the extremes of persecution and apathy, which is lights the way, is still held aloft.
We are the torchbearers for this generation and it is not without its urgency. All of us know some who live in darkness or despair, whose hearts are broken, who have no community, who have not understanding that there is one through whom all things give way so that we may know God's peace.
I just read a study from the City University of New York, which says the number of folks who say that have a religious center is dropping, that the number of people who call themselves Christians is declining. . .the American Religious Identification Survey says that those calling themselves Christians dropped from 86 percent in 1990 to 77 percent in 2001. This is not about numbers and us and them, but about those who lives can be lit by this torch . . . declining.
Who is this Jesus to you? Why does he matter? Tell someone. Invite them to come and see. Pass the torch. Amen
Copyright (c) 2002 by Pastor Robert J. Rasmus