First United Methodist Church - Fort Collins, CO

“What Do You Expect?”

It is a remarkable message we find in Psalm 147:16. It tells us, “God gives snow like wool; God scatters frost like ashes.” In the sermon I am struggling with the Grace and Gumption of what we face in 2007 and I’ve been thinking about what to say to prepare us for the year to come.

If it is true that our expectations will have a major role in determining the way the year will unfold. In fact I think there is something of a hersey related to expectations. It’s called the “heresy of too low expectations”. I plan to hold high expectations for the coming year. Everything that happens will have the potential to teach us. Everything that comes to us will be seen as a gift. Nothing will be wasted. All is a part of something we can use and move forward.

Irwin Kula has some interesting and important insights in his book, Yearnings: Embracing the Sacred Messiness of Life. We find this thought:

“Isaac Luria was a sixteenth-century mystic who had a wondrous vision about how the world came to be…As he read and reread Genesis, imagining and reimagining the world’s beginnings, Luria wondered: How can an all-perfect, all-encompassing God create something less than itself? The essential paradox of creation, Luria thought, is how the unity of the Divine gave rise to the multiplicity of this world. How does Oneness make room for otherness? In other words, how did God make room for life? Luria imagined that God contracted, became smaller, in order to allow life to unfold…He envisioned God as a series of vessels, luminous containers of all that is. When God contracted, the vessels shattered from the incredible energy and force, and shards were scattered throughtout the universe. Each of these fragments contained a spark of light, a grain of God.”

Luria concludes that it is our job to take the scattered shards and put them back together to bring God into a state of wholeness again. In other words the promise of the year to come is that we will find broken fragments of God and scattered sparks of light. Our job is to put them together as we work toward our own wholenss and as we work to put the world(and God) back together. The future provides both challenge and opportunity.

How will we find the spark of light and the grains of God?

How will we try to put it back together?

If you have thoughts  you would like to send to me personally write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If you would like to have others in the congregation see your response click on the ‘comments’ box. I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles

The sermon title, “What Do You Expect?”

One of the most interesting aspects of what we know as the Christmas season is what we have done with Matthew’s story about the Magi. These are astrologers, or kings. They are three people whose faith is not the faith of Israel and that is the point Matthew is trying to make. He is saying that Jesus brought forward a religion that wasn’t limited to the faith of Israel. Jesus is the “new Moses” who is bringing something that is faithful to God but is beyond the limits of Judaism.

It is an interesting part of the story to reflect upon the gifts of the Wise Men. They brought gold, frankincense, and myrrh. The symbolism of those gifts is powerful. What was brought to the Christ Child was material wealth(gold), intellectual alertness(frankincense), and the power over death(myrrh). When you look at what Jesus did with his life you can see how those gifts were transformed. He preached about true wealth is found in the way we establish our values, and intellect must lead to spiritual awareness, and the power over death is the power of the resurrection of the human spirit.

As we think about what is to happen to us in the coming year it is significant to know that part of what the new year will bring is THE GIVEN. The most important part is what we do with THE GIVEN we, by our GUMPTION, do with it.

Is it fair to say that the most important part of 2007 is not what comes to us but what we do with what comes to us? If so, we must be ready to:

1. See all glasses that are half empty as half full

2. See every challenge as an opportunity

3. See every disappointment as a prelude to a new appointment

4. See low points as the way to launch ourselves to the next high point

How we face what will happen to us is the key to answering the question, “What Do You Expect?”

How do you plan to face what will happen in the year to come? What will enable you to move forward when things seem to be taking you backward?

I’d like to hear from you.

If you have a response you want others to read click on the “comments” box below. If you have suggestions for me alone write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles

“Well, What Do You Expect?”

It’s one of the best times of the year to lead worship and to preach a sermon — the last Sunday of the year. It’s especially interesting if you have an opportunity to preach on the Sunday that is New Year’s Eve. We’ve come to the end of one year and, as is true of most old years, there were some things about last year we are happy to be beyond. Also, there are some things about the past year that were good to us and we have an opportunity to look back as we look ahead.

What are our expectations for the coming year? What will happen in 2007? What will not happen? It is a time to anticipate and to raise our expectations. It is a time to predict.

The following are my predictions for the year 2007:

1. There will be a move toward peace in the Middle East. The nations of that troubled part of the world will become weary of the bombing and the terrorists and peace will begin to break out.

2. There will be established a sense of integrity in all of the major institutions. Church, higher edcation, business leaders have come to see that the greed and selfishness that has been a motivation for personal behavior is not healthy, and the health of our institutions is indicative of our general state of well-being.

3. There will be a greater sense of inclusion and sensitivity to the diversity of families. Domestic violence will begin to be addressed, and we will begin to move away from from of our judgmental attitudes toward gay couples who are trying their best to raise their children with the values of stability, commitment, and mutual caring.

4. There will be significant progress made in the religious communities in Fort Collins. We have moved well beyond our need to put each other down, and we will begin working together to confront some of the most difficult problems common to all of us (i.e. immigration, poverty, health care costs, homelessness).

5. There will be some important steps taken in our church. We have shown minimal growth the past two years. Our church is gaining more members than it is losing. We are moving forward with our outreach ministries, and we are attracting more young people into leadership positions. Our finance campaign was the best we’ve had in years. Having Carol Quinn, Ray Miller, and David Dalke on our staff brings to us three of the most capable clergy in the area. They are retired but they are not ready to stop being in ministry. We are very fortunate to have them working in our church.

What do you think will happen in 2007?

If you have thoughts you’d like to share with others click the “comments” box. If you’d like to reserve your thoughts specifically for me write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

 Charles

HAPPY NEW YEAR

The snow is going to be an important feature this year. Most of us were stuck at home yesterday. I have made it to the office this morning, and we have thought about what needed to be done to prepare for Christmas Eve. The chair in my office broke. One of the wheels sRevenapped off and flew into the hall. It didn’t hit anyone but if it had there could have been a substantial injury. I guess I shouldn’t be thinking such heavy thoughts at Christmas. The snow-thrower broke at home when I was trying to clear a path in the driveway. The result was great however. All the neighbors got together and we liberated each other. The copier in the office broke. It got choked up on the Christmas Eve bulletin. We’re waiting for a part to be delivered from Cheyenne. This could be a long wait. We have ordered more candles for the services. If they don’t arrive we may have to activate our cell phones to light up the Sanctuary.

Here is the schedule for Sunday:

Sunday morning

8 and 9:15  Reverend Joel Kershaw is preaching. His sermon title is “Shalom Aleichem”

(note: There is no 10:45 service this Sunday)

Sunday afternoon

3pm  “Children’s Service”  Reverend Joel Kershaw   “The Greatest Christmas Pageant Ever”

Sunday evening

5pm and 7pm  My sermon is “You’ve Just Got to See This Thing”

Mid-night Service

11pm  “Communion”   My sermon is titled   “Everybody Comes Home At Christmas”

I have appreciated the comments you have sent to me privately as well as the ones you have allowed others to read. If you would like to send a message to the whole church click on the “comments” box. If you wish to send me your thoughts privately write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I wish for you and your family a Very Merry Christmas.

In spite of the snow, and because of the snow, we will do everything possible to make the Christmas Eve services meaningful.

Charles

This is my thinking for the 5 and 7 o’clock Christmas Eve sermon:  

Title: “You’ve Just Got To See This Thing”

The Shepherds were told about the Christ Child. The knew they had to “go and see this thing which the Lord has made known to them”. There is that about Christmas that is demonstrative. It is dramatic and we will want to take people to go see this thing. As I think about the lights on the houses and all the secular expositions of Christmas I wonder where the true meaning of Christmas is. Is it in the raindeer lights that move up and down? Is it in the Christmas trees or the Santa Claus air filled displays? There seems to be a great deal of secular Christmas and it seems as if it misses the mark from the real meaning of the season. And yet, isn’t it the true that Jesus is a “light to the darkness”? If Jesus is the light in the darkness don’t we find the true meaning of Christmas when we see the lights confronting the darkness? I think that’s true. I think the real meaning of Christmas is in the lights that are on our lawns. I think Christmas was a statement that turned the secular into the sacred. It seems to me that that is the point of it all.

11 pm Sermon for Christmas Eve 

Title      “Everybody Comes Home for Christmas”

The message in Luke suggests that there was a tax enrollment and it required everyone to return to their own home town to be registered. It appears that everyone came home for Christmas. At the 11 o’clock service everyone is invited to come to the table and the table is home for everyone. All of us who attend the 11 o’clock will be invited to come home for Christmas.

What was it like when you were home? What responsibilities did you have? How did being home seem to you?

I intend to explore the meaning of being home for Christmas and the importance of Communion. It is a sacrament that brings us home.

If you have thoughs about the secular expressions of Christmas or what it means to be home for Christmas write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. if you would like for others to see your reflections click on the box marked “comments”.

I look forward to hearing from you.

By the way, Merry Christmas

Charles 

The schedule of preachers for the Christmas Eve worship services has had to be changed. The change is due to the fact that Reverend Curtis has had to make another “emergency” trip to Arkansas. We will want to hold her in our thoughts and prayers. It’s a tough time for her family right now. Joyce will not be here for Christmas and will not be participating in any of our Christmas Eve services. She was scheduled to preach at the 11 p.m. service. The new schedule is as follows.

Christmas Eve Worship

3pm  “Children’s Candlelight service”    Joel Kershaw

5pm  ”CANDLELIGHT SERVICE” WITH Adult Choir  (sermon “You’ve Just Got To See This”   Charles Schuster) 

7pm  “CANDLELIGHT SERVICE” WITH Adult Choir  (sermon “You’ve Just Got To See This”   Charles Schuster)

11pm  “CANDLELIGHT SERVICE” WITH Communion (sermon “Everyone Is Home For Christmas”   Charles Schuster)

Some thoughts:

As a Biblical scholar an approach to the Christmas story would begin with a high degree of skepticism. There is much that has to be called into question and one has to be careful not to make more of the stories than is there. In all probability the actual birth of Jesus was understated to the point that it was completely unnoticed. Having been unnoticed the story has been untold. Matthew and Luke probably invented much of what we celebrate as Jesus’ birth narrative.

What is interesting is that in the telling of the story the Biblical writers basically left some facts about his birth alone. They could have written a dramatic story about how the “Son of God” was born in the manner of a royal figure, and they told the story of a child born to a peasant couple. They could have presented his birth with the kind of recongition given a significant religious leader attributing to his birth incredible miracles performed by his parents and to his very presence on this earth. Instead, we are given the idea that he was born into humble circumstances and his birth was witnessed by only a few and was an intrusion into a busy town that had no interest in him or his birth.

Even if Matthew and Luke have given us fiction regarding Jesus’ birth these writers have not changed the essence of the story which, as it actually happened, was annonymous and unregarded.

Obviously, I could use some help this week and would appreciate your insights and comments. If you would like to write me some thoughts you want others to see indicate that by clicking onto “comments”. If you would like to write me privately email me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charl 

In the 9th Chapter of Isaiah we hear the ancient prophet reminding his people for his day that there was hope on the horizon. It was a word to the people prior to the Exile. In one of darkest times and the people were reminded, “For unto us a child is born”.

The prophet was suggesting that in a period of months the Exile would end. It would be in the length of time it takes from conception to delivery a child would be born to us and, in that, there was hope.

The birth narratives pick up that theme and remind us of the birth of “the child” who, for us, is the Christ Child.

In the sermon I am exploring the way in which “a child” influences us and am suggesting two things:

1. A child has the capacity to lift us up when we’re down. A child can remind us that we are God’s children. We are people of worth. We are precious. Sometimes we do not feel our worth. Sometimes we lose sight of our importance and we degrade our value. A child will look at us with a “child-like” trust. We are important in the eyes of a child. In the Christmas story God comes to us in the form of a child to lift us up when we are down.

2. A child also has the capacity to give us perspective when we lose our balance. I child will bring us down to earth when we become “high and lifted up”. A child will remind us that we are all children of God. We are to care for the children of the world, and to be in a caring relationship with the world. Children do not understand war, or hatred, or greed. They stand with us, and bring us down to earth when we think ourselves too important or when we tend to overlook others who are in need of care or concern.

The Christ Child is prototypical of the concern of God who wants us to know we are God’s children.

This Christmas let us be open to the joy of “the birth of the child” in us. When we are down and out may we be lifted up. When we are high and mighty may we be brought back down to earth.

 What influence has a child ever had on your life?

How will Christmas bring joy into your world?

It is “Joy to the World” and it comes to us through a child.

If you have thoughts on this and would like others to read them respond where it says “comments”. If you’d like to communicate with me directly write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles

What is the source of the joy of Christmas? Why is there such a feeling? Why is there such joy this time of year? Some suggest that the joy is fake and for some it is. The expectation of joy makes it difficult for some who seem to have not joy in their lives. That is the reason Christmas is such a sad time for some people. The expectation is that there will be joy in their lives and when there isn’t joy it makes it more difficult.

As I look at some the texts for Advent I find the secret. The reason Christmas brings us joy is due to the fact that Isaiah reminds us, “Unto us a child is born” Isaiah 9:6. It is the birth of a child we are reminded of at Christmas. We are reminded that God came to us in the form of a child, but it is called to our attention that God comes to us in the birth of our children.

Church members going to visit family to “see the new grandchild” have a different look about them. Church members who are expecting a child to come to them view Christmas with a joy that is extreme. It is the child born to us that brings us joy. It is the child born in us that brings us joy. It’s the joys and the toys that remind us of the importance of play.

Do you have a child being born to you this year?

Is there a child born in you?

If so, you are filled with Christmas joy. If not there is time yet to find it.

What do you think is the source of Christmas joy? If you would like other people to see your response click on “comments”. If you’d like to write me privately write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles

Toys and Joys To The World

The worship theme for Sunday will center on the “Joy” of Christmas. My research will begin with an exploration of the Christmas Carol “Joy To The World”.

This song was written by Isaac Watts in 1719. It is a paraphrase of Psalm 98:4-9. The hymn proclaims the future establishment of God’s power on earth. The original first line was “Joy to the Earth” but “earth” was changed to “World” in the Methodist Hymnal in 1878.

Isaac Watts was born in England. He was the first of nine children and he received his early education in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew. He declined an opportunity to study for the Anglican priesthood and instead studied theology and philosophy and became ordained and became pastor of Mark Lane Independent Chapel in London. Because of failing health he retired early in life and spent his later years writing philosophical and theological books, among them Logic. His book was used at Oxford for many years. He wrote 600 hymns and the two best known are “O God Our Help In Ages Past”, and Joy To The World”.

There is joy in the season of Advent. It comes through the wait for the arrival of Christmas, but it also has its roots in the realities of what comes to us as we wait. If we assume that arrival is what Advent points to and we aim for Christmas as our destination, we will miss the arrivals that happen in the waiting; we will miss the joy that comes each day.

What are the joys of Advent?

1. The smiles on the faces of children

2. The searching out for the right thing to give the right person knowing that the thought is more important than the gift

3. The beautiful music of Advent/Christmas

4. The reawakening of magic in a world that is so matter of fact that it misses some of the most important facts

What are your joys at Advent?

What are your joys in Christmas?

One of my convictions for worship is something I’ve acted upon every year I’ve been a pastor is the singing of Christmas carols during Advent. Some see this as premature. Some would argue we ought to be singing Advent hymns during Advent and save the Christmas carols for Christmas and Epiphany(the season after Christmas in January). I like to sing the familiar carols at Advent because they put is into a framework of expectation more effectively than the very dour Advent hymns that reflect a protracted agony of fear and expectation.

What do you think about this? Do you like singing Christmas carols now or should we have waited to sing them at a more liturgically appropriate time?

I’d like to know your ideas on this and I would like your thought about Advent Joy. If you would like other people to see your reflections click on “comments” and put your ideas there. If you wish to respond so that I am the only one who reads your ideas write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles

If we look at the first chapter of the Gospel of Luke and the first few verses we find the author making a case for the  authority to write about the events and stories that others have experienced first hand. The author, Luke, goes on to say that it is his intent to write a congent narrative on the matters related to the life and teaching of Jesus.

In other words Luke is admitting he was not present and did not have primary information, but that it is proper for him to give us an accounting of the events and circumstances. Luke writes a gospel based on stories he has heard.

Given that premise offered by the gospel writer it invites us to do the same. Christmas stories added to the folk lore continue to be important.

 I want to offer some speculation concerning Jesus’ birth story. I want to reflect on the feeling of the inn keeper who put Mary and Joseph in the stable when there was “no room in the inn”. What would the inn keeper think about the events that transpired the night Jesus was born?

Is the inn keeper a hero?

Is he a villain?

Should he have given Mary and Joseph his private room?

What did he charge them for the night’s stay in the stable?

How long were they there?

What happened to the inn keeper?

What is your thought? Is the inn keeper a hero or a villain?

I would like to hear from you on this. If you have responses you would like everyone to see respond by tapping where it says “comments”. If you would like to send me a message privately email me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles