Do You See What I See? Part 1

Grace mercy, peace be to each of you from God our Father through Jesus Christ his only son our only Lord and Savior. I'm a little bit if you might remember if you were watching the livestream at some point we talked about how we celebrate many birthdays during the course of the Year various family members and Friends our own birthday, of course being the favorite that we celebrate during the course of the year. And then we talked about a birthday to nobody celebrates for all intents and purposes. And that is the birthday of the church on the day of Pentecost. The church is that a crazy idea that group of people that is called out of the World by God. Enter in the readings today in the words of today's Bible readings the church is that Kingdom of priests and that holy nation that God told Moses about at Mount Sinai when he brought the children of Israel out of slavery in Egypt brought them to the foot of the mountain and then said you are my kingdom of priests. You're my holy nation that relatable that title that calling belongs to the church as well. Of course, if you read the Old Testament, the history of Israel does not prove to be a history of faithfulness to that calling. If you read the history of the church, you will find the same thing to be true that the history of the church is not a story of faithfulness to the calling of God to be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation nevertheless the calling of God on Israel. And on the church today is still valid it is still true. All right, then the second for the birthday of many people in this country. Anyway that I mentioned last week is Christmas the birthday of Jesus. I'm not everybody who celebrates Christmas connects the two dots but that's what Christmas is. It is the birthday of Jesus part of the fun of celebrating the birthday of Jesus of celebrating Christmas is all the music is all the singing all the songs that we get to sing or hear the carols and things like that. So I've been thinking about that over the last couple of years. I I don't know maybe I should have been thinking of something different a better but if you can actually take those Christmas songs, that's not cool and carols of Christmas songs that you can try to put them on a spectrum. Okay, it's the one on one end of the spectrum you you would put on I would put biblical carols the songs that you could actually legitimately sing in church on the other end of the spectrum. You would put secular songs that are sort of holiday songs that are not related to Jesus and really Christmas at all. Okay. So on the one hand you write the songs that are in on him know me at All, Ye Faithful silent night away in the manger Joy to the World things like that on the other items. You've got Jingle Bells and deck the halls in Frosty the Snowman in Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and things along those lines. What goes in the middle in the middle? I'd like to put the songs that I'm calling theological fiction. You know, how there is historical fiction. It's it's pretty much the history of the story is pretty accurate, but then the plot and the characters are fictitious then they're not real. So so we have songs like that that are theological fiction. They've got a pretty decent biblical message. But but the characters in the in the plot line are there made up. All right. So a really good example of the theological fiction would be We Three Kings maybe I would fall so put the First Noel in their songs like that. Little Drummer Boy may be Loosely got a lump in there and then of course the title of the sermon today for the song that's that goes. Do you see what I see in your heads? I'm not going to sing for you. Don't worry about it. But did you hear that song in your head with a little lamb. Question the Shepherd School ask that question of the mighty king who then tells the people everywhere to listen to what I say. Okay about this this child with Shivers in the cold. Let us bring him silver and gold. Why am I talking about all this? Why am I bringing all that out? Well, because

As I read the Gospel reading in preparation for today. I kind of saw Jesus asking us that question. Do you see what I see? Okay. I know it's kind of an unusual question. I know it's kind of an unusual perspective for us, you know who are gathered either here or in the internet world. Or at 11 outside cuz usually when we come to church, Jesus is asking us. Do you see me?

And usually when we come to church we want to see Jesus. And that's valid. That's right. That's good. But today I think we're being asked by Jesus a different question so that we can have a slightly different View.

As you look in the world. Do you see what Jesus sees?

Do you see what I see?

Okay, pastor. What does Jesus say?