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Lighthouse December 3, 2025

Stay awake
Do you ever wonder what the end will be like? We know, based on natural law that the sun only has so many days. Will God allow us to exist on this earth that long? Will the second coming of Christ come before then? Will the end come at our own hands? What do you envision it is going to be like? There are some who bought into the Late Great Planet Earth and began dreaming of the rapture when those who are saved will be taken up and disappear from the earth. There are some who propose an upcoming great warning where everyone will be given a chance over a couple day or hours to examine themselves. When Jesus ascended into heaven the angels told the apostles that they would see him come again just as He went up. If it wasn’t referring to the apostles themselves did it mean everyone on earth in some way or other would see Jesus come at the same time? There is much we don’t know. What we do know is over and over again the scriptures tell us there will be a time of judgment. There will be a final day. One of the scriptures where that is made very clear is in Mt. 24:37ff where Jesus himself said to his apostles: “as it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the son of Man. In those days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in
marriage, up to the day that Noah entered the ark. They did not know until the flood came and carried them all away. So will it be also at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be out in the field; one will be taken and one will be left...therefore stay awake! For you do not know on
which day your Lord will come.” Stay awake. That is so hard to do. I mean, Christians in the first century were quite sure Jesus would come in their own lifetime. There wasn’t much interest in writing down what we now have as scripture. Paul reprimanded some because they would not work but as he said, were just being busy-bodies. The centuries have come and gone and still the church has persisted and still He hasn’t come. Some just wrote it off as being a boogie man, or Santa Claus story written as a fable to make people be good. Consequently many have done just what Jesus predicted; they will go on eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage. They will go on acting as if there is no end, no final judgment,
no accountability. The truth is. There will be. The final question is: will I have faith enough in Jesus himself to know He is not just pulling our leg but really means what He says, there will be a time. Are you ready?

Lighthouse November 26, 2025

ADVENT

Ecclesiastes 3 says: There is a time for everything, a season for every activity under the heavens, a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace.” In hearing these words we are reminded that life is very cyclical. And so, the church in it's wisdom celebrates the mystery of faith and the following of Christ in a seasonal pattern as are the seasons of nature. The Methodist, Church of Nazarene, Orthodox, Episcopalian, Lutheran, Catholic and others divide the church year up. This coming Sunday we begin the Season of Advent, then Christmas, Lent, Easter, and Ordinary time. One of the problems we as humans have is to always want to be on the high side of our feelings or emotions. In areas of addictions one tends to want more and more and more intense. Whatever it is. Too many, in the area of faith, may have a great experience of conversion to Jesus Christ and then when they don't feel that they begin to think they really don't have faith. There may be a tendency to seek prayer experiences where there is always a great emotional beat in the music or always great emotional sermons. That is why the 'gospel of success' resonates with so many. But that is simply not life; nor is it faith. We not only hear the call to 'make a joyful noise before the Lord', 'play for him on drums and tambourines.', we also hear st. Paul reminding us to take up our share of the Gospel as when he says: 'I continue to bear in myself the completion of the sufferings of Christ.' It is with this in mind we just finished the previous year by celebrating Christ the King. For the next two Sundays, even though we are looking forward to Christmas we actually consider the second coming of Christ and then, as if having a baby shower we look to the birth of the Savior of the World. With that we celebrate 8 days, an octave, as if it were Christmas, ending on January 1. 8 is a sign of new beginnings. We will do the same with the other great feast of Easter. While other christian bodies may do Advent differently, the Catholic tradition, in order to accent the high, goes through these four weeks with lower tones for the music and no singing of the Gloria and no flowers. Christmas will then come alive with traditionally the Midnight Mass, flowers, many candles and bright music. Just as we find it wonderful to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, special holidays, and showers just so the scriptures indicate it helps to have highs and lows and not think we always need to be on a high to indicate faith. We need that weekly time of worship to highlight our relationship with the Lord just as it is helpful for couples to have a date-night to always celebrate their exclusive love. May your Advent help you to better celebrate the birth of Jesus who has come into the world.

Lighthouse November 19, 2025

Thanksgiving

What do you think of when you think of thanksgiving? Turkey, sweet potatoes, cranberries, pecan pie? I hope they’re good memories. For me, I am grateful even though I don’t seem to like most of those ingredients. It seems that when I was in about fourth grade we had dinner at my aunt’s and later in the day she came out handing me a coveted turkey liver. It must have been bad as I could not even eat chicken for years after that. I didn’t want anything to do with the traditional thanksgiving dinner; except family. It has always been a family day as I suppose it is for most. What a gift family is. With that in mind I hope most of you can keep that tradition going. But, is that all it is? Food and family? Isn’t that enough? That first thanksgiving reminds us that as we move into the winter it was a time where one knew whether there was a good harvest of crops and meat. If there wasn’t it could easily mean starvation. That’s what apparently stared the early settlers in the face. Starvation has a way of bringing one to their knees. For you and I today, even though there has been a lot of concern lately about food insecurity and our food pantries have really been going through a lot, we still have pretty good confidence that there will be enough. So, truly, let us be grateful for these basics. One of the reasons I love thanksgiving is that it draws us together from all across the spectrum to give thanks to God together. It’s a time when we recognize the need to make an extra time for worship outside of our normal Sunday service. Won’t you join us this coming Sunday on November 23 at the Trinity Methodist Church at 5:00? Thanksgiving is not just a day but a way of life. You and I, as Christians, are called to give thanks for all things. That does mean, all things. Scripture reminds us that all things work to the good of those who believe. If so, what sets Christians aside is that we believe this and therefore trust in the goodness of God, rising above our feelings and giving thanks to Him. I pray that this thanksgiving is especially good for you. Tonight, start counting your blessings, and as the song says ‘count them one by one.’ Our God is a great God. Amen?

Lighthouse November 12, 2025

Death

How simple a term. How final. Like they say: two things you can’t avoid, death and taxes. What do you think of when you think of death? Some try to ignore and others become obsessed wanting to know when. In November we usually think of those who have gone before us. We think of the end of the church year, the end of time. We see nature all around us dying knowing winter is coming on. Then we are reminded of other signs as Jesus said: ‘do not be deceived, for many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he,’ and ‘The time has come.’ Do not follow them! When you hear of wars and insurrections, do not be terrified; for such things must happen first, but it will not immediately be the end.” Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be powerful earthquakes, famines, and plagues from place to place; and awesome sights and mighty signs will come from the sky." Lk. 21:5ff This past month we have certainly been aware of all these signs by a number of massive earthquakes around the world and the worst hurricane ever to hit Jamaica. We still have extended wars going on and wonder when there will be peace. The bottom line is: Jesus is telling us not to worry about signs. He is telling us to always be prepared for death as we do not know the day or the hour. When we look for the day and the hour we are subconsciously telling ourselves ‘I don’t have to be prepared yet.” As Christians we are to live in such a way as to always be prepared. To run a successful business one needs to keep the end goal always before them. The same applies to the Christian life. We need to live with death always before us. You may have seen medieval pictures of monks who had a skull on their night stand or even monasteries where skulls became part of the architecture. It might seem macabre but it was certainly a constant reminder. How do you envision being prepared for your final days? As you come to the end of each day how does that vision challenge you to make any changes in your life? One philosopher made the statement that an “unexamined life is not worth living.” As human beings we are capable of forming our lives. Are we really trying to make the best version of ourselves? We only get to go through this world but once so we do well to ask ourselves whether our present way of life is the kind of legacy we want? Let us live so that with St. Paul we can say ‘imitate me’. Is ours the kind of life where Our Lord will say ‘Well done good and faithful servant.”?

Lighthouse November 10, 2025

All Hollowed Eve (the holy eve of All Saints)

Well, did everyone get enough candy? With all the candy at the parades and now trick or treat our dentists should do quite well. Kidding aside, what’s it all about? Everything centers around this special day we call All Saints where we remember the fact that we are in union with millions who have gone before us. How many Christians have there been who died in the grace of God? Many of these, including 11 of the apostles died for the faith and 27 of first 31 popes The reality is that there were more who died for the faith during the last century than in all other history combined. So many today as in Nigeria, China, India continue to die for the faith. Besides these, there have been such greats as St. Jerome who translated the Bible into Latin and Thomas Aquinas who showed greater understanding of the faith through the great Greek philosophies. Such people as St. Francis Assisi gave everything for Christ. Then you and I like to think of our more recent ancestors whom we pray are in the presence of the Lord. What does it take to be in the communion of the saints? Jesus told us that he would rather we be hot or cold for if we were lukewarm He would spew us from His mouth. We can think of these saints mentioned above or of someone like Bartolo Longo, a lawyer, who was recently recognized for his being converted from a Satanic high priest to a total self-giving for Christ. Are you lukewarm? We might like to think of ourselves as Christian simply because we are a good person but are we simply buying into what Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a Lutheran pastor called cheap grace. He challenged all who simply lived their life as usual and thinking because they prayed to Jesus once in a while they had it made. For Jesus to be Lord there must be some challenge in our lives. Through His Spirit Jesus has given every Christian certain gifts for the good of the kingdom. Do I pray for an unfolding of those gifts with a listening heart to how God wants me to use them? The communion of saints is quite a union of brothers and sisters who are praying that we be able to join them. Are you taking on certain disciplines in your life so that we not only don’t lose the gift of faith Jesus has given us but be able to witness it to others? Are we taking time to read His Word, to pray for others and to actively pray for His will in our lives? God desires to be intimately involved in the life of each of us. As we think of the saints who have gone before us, let us live in such a way that with St. Paul we can say: “follow my example” and come to lead others to that eternal life with the saints.

Lighthouse October 29, 2025

Thou shalt not kill

This past week we had the sad reality of one of our own being killed by the state. Some worked hard at trying to prevent that but failed. God bless those who tried. But, as Christians we can’t let it drop now just because it doesn’t affect someone we know. To kill, is never a good. The only time one might morally take the life of another, and that is not a good thing, is when there is true self defense, one’s own life or one’s neighbors. Even there the goal should never be to kill the other but to do what is necessary in preventing them from killing. Certainly, in this day and age, capital punishment is no longer a self defense. We are quite capable of keeping an assailant at bay for life. Beyond that we are called to look at other areas of killing where we are all being led to complicitly participate in. Several states have enacted laws allowing the terminating of the life of someone who no longer wants to live. Is that really loving one’s neighbor when they come to realize that we the caregivers have given up on helping them? Euthanasia simply becomes a means for us to say we don’t want to deal with the other any longer, we can’t handle seeing their struggle, we can’t think of encouraging them to offer their suffering for the good of others. That is what Jesus did. That is what Paul did with his sufferings when he said “I continue to bear in my body the completion of the suffering of Christ.’ And, then, of course we cannot ever escape the reality of our being a civilized nation which continues to kill over one million young human beings every year in the womb. These are the most innocent of all human beings and we don’t even give them pain killers before we exterminate them. When God tells us that He knew us before we were formed He is telling us that we have had a most intimate relationship with Him from the earliest moment of our existence in our mothers. If Jesus can say to his apostles that those are going to hell who failed to respond to “I was hungry and you did not give me to eat.” How much more will be the condemnation of those who willingly participate in the killing of the most innocent? The scripture tells us that the days were coming when people would say good is evil and evil is good. So they try to disguise the killing of the innocent as being a good, a good for the woman involved, but not the child. The truth is, there is never an occasion where a direct attack on the child in the womb is warranted and to form the argument in terms of an exception for rape and incest does not change the innocence of the child. I once had a women tell me that her father raped her and then as a doctor aborted her. Is that love? Let’s use all the gifts God has given us to bring about a future when no one is killed on purpose, no matter how small. By the way, our area did fantastic in voting against last year's proposal to change the constitution to allow abortion at any time. It is being proposed this year to do just the opposite. You are now being asked to vote 'yes' to proposition 3 to have an amendment which will again make Missouri the most pro-life state. Please encourage others, every vote does indeed count.