First United Methodist Church - Fort Collins, CO

On Sunday the 13th we looked at “Joseph and his coat of many colors”.
On Sunday the 20th we will consider Joseph and the goat.

He has so irritated his brothers telling them that he was his father’s favorite and how he would eventually rule over them they took him out and threw him down a well and slaughtered a goat and put the blood of the goat on his coat of many colors.

Subsequently, Joseph was sold off into slavery in Egypt.

The sermon will look at what it means to be put in the bottom of a well. What do we do when he “hit the bottom” in life? How do we get out of the worst situations and thrive?

This sermon will address the issue of misfortune and tragedy. What was the worst day of your life and how did you cope with it? What resources do we have within and beyond us to keep reminding ourselves that we can survive and rise again?

If you have thoughts about this write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net (click on the space and the email address will pop up).

I look forward to hearing from you.

When we are feeling we are not the most favored, like Joseph’s brothers there are three things we can do/ and must do:

1. Find something that “gets us started” and helps us follow our bliss.

On the other hand, and this is the direction I am now moving, mostly, we are not the person of privilege; we are the recipient of dishonor. We are not the favored son or daughter; we are the rejected one. There are more of us than there are favored children just as there are more Joseph’s brothers than there are Josephs.

How do we handle what it means to be “the middle child” or “the junior in rank”? What do we do when we are turned down in favor of someone else?

I will try to develop a sermon that looks seriously at Joseph’s brothers knowing that their response was not what we’d like to follow. They became angry with Joseph and they plotted against him. They had him thrown into a pit and sold into slavery. That kind of vindictiveness did them no good, and, ultimately, did them much harm.

How do we handle being second best?
What is our response to not being the favored one?

How could the story of Joseph and his brothers been a different story; with a happier ending?

I’d like to hear from you. Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net (click on the blank if the email address is not shown and the email address will pop up.

I look forward to your response.

It strikes me as important as the new year begins to think about our resolutions and our hopes for the coming year that we consider the burden of our blessings while we are reflecting on our dreams for new blessings. What if we get what we deserve and we wish we hadn’t? What if our prayers are answered but we wish they weren’t?

Joseph was given a gift from his father Jacob. He was given a coat of many colors. It was the best gift he could ever have, and it was the worst thing he could ever be given. It made him be a favored son, and it made his brothers jealous. He was number one in the family but it got him in such trouble that it made him wonder if it was worth the trouble.

Many people aspire to something only to receive it, and wish it had never come. You strive to become the boss. You work hard to get ahead. Your efforts are noticed and rewarded and you become the boss. You are on top of the world. It is then you notice how lonely it is at the top. It is then you realize what you hoped to achieve did not bring the satisfaction you thought it would bring. Looking back at how you achieved it you realize the hurt you cause on your way to the top.

What should we hope for? What is the best it can be for us? Is it a coat of many colors? Is it the top of our company? Do we really need to be number one to realize the fulfillment of life’s greatest promise?

The sermon Sunday will center on issues of meaning and wholeness. It will have us take a look at our aims and aspirations. It will help us, I hope, look at what it means to be on top of the world.

What are your dreams?
How do you expect to be rewarded in ways that are fulfilling in the year to come?

If you have thoughts on this subject write me at my email address (charlesschuster@fcfumc.net). Click on the empty space and the email address will surface.

I look forward to hearing from you.

January 13th    “Joseph Had a Coat”

This sermon was inspired by something I had known about the name of the town Bethlehem. One of the translations of the town Bethlehem is “House of Chaos/Fighting”. It is important for us to remember that there were conflicts going on at the time of Jesus birth. There were wars and people were fighting and dying. It was a terrifying time to live. Into that setting comes one we call “The Prince of Peace”. The fighting and chaos are part of the story. The fighting carried through years of struggle and misunderstanding, and it is clear that there was little recognition of the birth of one who would have the words and the Word that could end all fighting and could restore order to a world in chaos.

The implications for us are massive. If we concentrate on the mainstream of things we will become pretty discouraged. However, once we begin to look off into the margins of life we find people trying to confront the chaos and to bring peace and calm to the perpetual conflicts. The sermon will look at the ways in which God comes to us, not in the middle of things, but off to the side. The sermon will raise questions about how we might participate in the “peace-making”.

Christmas Eve Schudule

3:00 Children’s Service       Sermon  “The Give Away”  Joel Kershaw
5:00 & 7:00 Traditional Worship Service with Sanctuary Choir and Special Music          Sermon: “What Color Were the Swaddling Clothes”   
                                                                              Charles Schuster
8:30 - 10:30                 Communion available in the Chapel

11:00  Midnight Worship  Sermon: “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star”    
                                                                               David Dalke          

                                     Christmas Eve Sermon

The title of the sermon is “What Colors Were the Swaddling Clothes?”
In the research on the subject I have discovered some facts that are new and interesting to me. It was tradition to “swaddle” babies (to wrap them up with strips of cloth and to salt their bodies). It made them feel safe and secure.

In thinking about the “swaddling clothes” and in speculating on the color it seems to me the color of the swaddling clothes is the color of love. The question is “what is the color of love?”

Two Questions:
1. How does Jesus’ birth confront the chaos of our world?
2. What is the color of love?

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

I look forward to hearing from you.

Charles Schuster

The word Bethlehem has a number of translation. The sermon will explore each of these interpretations and I will try to find a way to apply each.

1. Bethlehem means “house of food”/ “house of bread”. I can think of Bethlehem as a house of hospitality. It was a homecoming spot for the people who left Babylon and the exile. The people who greeted them were warm and friendly and it built the reputation of the town.

2. Bethlehem means “house of fighting”/ “house of hostility”. There have been times in the history of the town when that really fit. There was a war between the Samaritans and the Jews. There are well documented struggles with the Romans. The enrollment that brought Mary and Joseph to Bethlehem was surrounded with resentment and anger.

3. Bethlehem means “house of God”/ “house of holiness”. There are several reasons this might fit Bethlehem. Bethlehem was the place where David grew up. Also his mother Ruth was from Bethlehem and, we are told by Matthew and Luke, Jesus was born in Bethlehem.

What do we do with this? Do we think of Jesus as having been born in an environment of hospitality, or fighting, or holiness? Which is these names best fits the town we remember in Phillips Brooks poem which became the Christmas Carol, “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. His inspiration came as he sat on a hill above the city and began the think about Jesus’ birth.

Which of the names most fits the town where Jesus is thought to have been born?

I think it was the third option although all three seem to be appropriate. What do you think of when you think of Bethlehem? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net. If the address doesn’t appear just click on the space and the email address will come up.

I look forward to hearing from you.

I want to explore the history of the town of Bethlehem at the time of Jesus’ birth. I want to learn what was happening then and how that compares to what is happening in our world today.

What were the factions in Bethlehem? How were the various battles being played out? What were the dangers? What were the Romans doing about the potential for an uprising? Were they concerned about it some 70 years before there actually was an uprising? What were the hard core zealots doing about the Roman occupation? What kind of census was there? Historians doubt that there was a nation wide enrollment, but they do acknowledge there was regional requirements for the people to declare themselves for the purpose of being taxed.

Was the world then as violent as our world has become? Were there wars and battles or minor skirmishes?

In the backdrop of what was Jesus born?

Do you have thoughts about this? What is your guess? Write me at charlesschuster@fcfumc.net (click on the blank to bring up the email address.

I look forward to hearing from you.