First United Methodist Church - Fort Collins, CO

I have come to the following conclusions:

1. If Jesus is God’s son we can see it in the choices he made. He chose to allow John to Baptize him. He really didn’t need to be baptized, but he chose to let John baptize him and, in giving authority over to John he showed us that life calls for us to consider what we are doing and why we are doing. The authority he gave John authorizes us to make choices for the good of the whole. It’s not just about us.

2. If Jesus is God’s son we can see it in the cross he carried. He put his choices into action and he courageously faced his fears and his death by doing what he did for countless people who felt excluded from God. He found a cause and he lived it. He picked up his cross and he carried it. The Roman Centurion, at the foot of the cross said, “This man is a son of God.” There are crosses/causes we must carry. It’s not just about us.

3. If Jesus is God’s son we can see it in the community he established. He took the bread and the cup and he said, “I will be alive in you. Take the cup and the bread that is broken. I will be alive in you as you gather in my name.” There is a community we are invited to join. It is called the ‘body of Christ’ and we reconnect with that community at the table when we receive the sacrament. It’s not just about us.

It is not just about us, and it’s not just about the kind of person Jesus was. If Jesus is the Son of God, and as we are followers of the Son of God we are compelled to do as he did. We must make good choices, we must find a cross to carry, and we must be part of a community of faith. It’s not just about us, and it’s not just about Jesus, it’s primarily about the God we worship who is present with us in our community, in the crosses we carry and in the choices we make.

This is where the sermon has taken me. If you have thoughts about this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and the email address will pop up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles Schuster

When was he thought of as the “Son of God”

Paul thought Jesus was the “Son of God” at the resurrection.

Mark thought Jesus was the “Son of God” at the time of his baptism

Matthew and Luke thought Jesus was the “Son of God” happened at his conception.

John believed Jesus was the “Son of God” before the beginning of the world. Jesus, John thought, was the Word and the Word was before the world was.

In the order in which these scriptures were written it looks like a trend has developed. The earlier the writer the later the writer thought Jesus was the “Son of God”. Paul wrote first, before all the Gospels and Jesus was the “Son of God” at the time of Jesus’ death. John wrote the latest and John thought Jesus was the “Son of God” before the beginning of time.

The Jesus title got larger the further away from the actual historical event.

I think that is interesting and it leads me to think the title “Son of God” wasn’t so important at first. In the sermon I am trying to determine what the title “Son of God” means to us, and I am coming up with some surprising information as I research this topic. I’ll add to this on Friday after I check a few things out.

If you have ideas write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and my email address will pop up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

“Jesus God’s Son”

He will explain one of the most difficult and most misunderstood concept in the whole of Christian tradition.

I will be in the Samaritan Class in the parlor at 9:15 and in the Open Hearts Class on the second floor of the education wing at 10:45 trying to go over the petitions to be considered at General Conference at the end of April in Fort Worth, Texas.

You can reach Joel at his email address which is jkershaw@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and his address will pop up.

Have a great week.

I, personally, did not have I healthy relationship with my father. He was an alcoholic who beat my mother, threatened me, and killed himself by attaching a hose to the exhause of his car when I was 9 and my sister was 14. He was a sad and pathetic human being, but I understand what Jesus was saying when he called God ‘Abba’.

When I was a seminary student in North Carolina I worked in the Pembroke area of North Carolina with the Lumbee Indians. I can tell you that was one community where the idea of God as ‘abba’ was not meaningful.

How do we talk about God as “father” with people who have not had a good relationship with their father?

If you have thoughts about this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and the address will pop up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

His interpretion of God as Abba had more to do with confronting a concept of God that was distant and austere. Jesus changed the theological landscape in his understanding of God by bringing God close and by helping people look beyond the idea of God as severe judge and punishing power. God was like a loving parent; a loving father, but Joseph was not God.

Taking the concept of God as having been influence by Joseph, Jesus’ father-figure, we will want to look at two aspects of God:

1. The initiating, propelling impetus of God who enters into our lives and influences us to take a step forward. There is that in God that is moves us off the mark and pushes us to try what we are afraid to try, and urges us to live up to the greatness we have the potential to achieve.

2. The comforting, loving, supportive understanding of God that provides ballast when we tend to list to the point of sinking. There is that presence that grants us a sense of well-being and helps us when we fail or falter.

Do you experience these two attributes of God; one more than the other? Does ‘abba’ provide a context for those attributes. It seems clear to me that Jesus was influenced by his father, Joseph, to define God in ways that we can understand as he understood. What do you think? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and the address will pop up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

In all our theological reflection on Jesus as the Son of God there is something important that gets lost. It is the influence of Joseph. We really have very little about Joseph directly, and yet, there is much about Joseph that comes to us indirectly.

I think the “Parable of the Prodigal Son” is Jesus’ definitive understanding of the nature of God. He believed in a God who was preemptively forgiving. He believed in a God whom he called “abba”; a word that means “loving Father”.

Joseph must have died when Jesus was young. We don’t hear anything about Joseph after Jesus had attained the age of 12 and was taken to Jerusalem when Jesus was lost in the crowd and separated from his parents. Mary chastized Jesus by saying that he had worried her and his father Joseph.

Joseph was a builder; some say he was a carpenter. Some suggest he was a stone mason. He taught Jesus his trade.

In Matthew’s Gospel we have the story of Joseph taking Mary and Jesus from Bethlehem to Egypt when there was a threat on children two years and younger. Joseph was a protective father.

The sermon will explore the influence on Jesus’ life of his father. He was Joseph’s son and in the lineage of David because of it. The fatherhood of Joseph is important as we explore Jesus’ life and teaching. This son of God had an earthly father, and when he wanted to express what God meant to him and how God was to him Jesus used the name “abba”. He might just as well have used the name Joseph.

How important is or was your father in determining your values and character? How important is a father to a son or daughter? How does your idea of God compare to the best that was attributed to your dad?

If you have thoughts on this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. Click on the blank space and my email address will appear.

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles

                                               Sermon Series For Lent 

February 10th     “Jesus Abrahamson”     Son of Abraham        Pam Everhart
February 17th     ”Jesus Josephson”         Son of Joseph          Charles Schuster
February 24th     “Jesus Manson”              Son of Man               Joel Kershaw
March 2nd         ”Jesus Godson”               Son of God               Charles Schuster
March 9th        “Jesus Marison”              Son of Mary              Charles Schuster
March 16th       “Jesus Davidson”           Son of David             Charles Schuster
                                                  

                                             Maundy Thursday (Passover Meal)
March 20th “Jesus Lambson”            The Lamb of God      Joel Kershaw
 
March 21st                 Good Friday (Requiem by Mozart)
  “Jesus Crux”        The Crucified One    Charles Schuster

Biblical scholar E.F. Blair writes, “The second century Book of James (Protevangelium), and the fourth-century History of Joseph the Carpenter (Death of Joseph) present Joseph as a widower with children at the time he espoused Mary, a girl of 12 years. The latter book describes in great detail the death at age 111. The Gospel of thomas (second century) also presents fanciful incidents concerning Jesus and Joseph. In the Middle Ages a cult of Saint Joseph grew up.”

How do you think he felt about dying?
How do you approach death?

What does the fact of death do with the way you live?

I’d love to hear from you.

                                             Jesus’ Last Name

March 10     “Jesus Abrahamson”     Son of Abraham        Pam Everhart
March 17     ”Jesus Josephson”         Son of Joseph          Charles Schuster
March 24     “Jesus Manson”              Son of Man               Joel Kershaw
April 2         ”Jesus Godson”               Son of God               Charles Schuster
April 9         “Jesus Marison”              Son of Mary              Charles Schuster
April 16       “Jesus Davidson”           Son of David             Charles Schuster
                                                  

                                             Maundy Thursday (Passover Meal)
April 20th   “Jesus Lambson”            The Lamb of God      Joel Kershaw
 
                                              Good Friday (Requiem by Mozart)