Joseph: Receiving the Gift of Peace

4th Sunday of Advent

Matthew 1:18-25
22 December 2013
Elizabeth M. Deibert

Some people are good at giving gifts.  They know just what to buy.  They are confident in knowing what others would like.  Some people are good at receiving gifts.  I have never seen my mother receive a gift that she was not happy to receive.  Our seventeen year-old Rebecca has become very gracious as she matured, but I do remember the Christmas when Santa brought her siblings shiny metal scooters while she, the youngest received the bright, plastic safe little kid scooter.  She was not happy with that gift.  She was mad at Santa for that mistake.

Sometimes at Christmas we get things we do not want.  It all began with Joseph.   He got what he did not want – a pregnant fiance’.  This amazing gift of a stepson, Jesus, was not the gift he anticipated as he waited for his marriage to Mary.  Joseph accepted the unwanted gift with grace.  He listened to the angel in his dream.  He protected Mary and trusted that her son was in fact a gift from God, conceived by the Holy Spirit.  Hear the story of the birth of Jesus from Joseph’s perspective.

Matthew 1:18-25

Now the birth of Jesus the Messiah took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been engaged to Joseph, but before they lived together, she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. 19 Her husband Joseph, being a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, planned to dismiss her quietly. 20 But just when he had resolved to do this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. 21 She will bear a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." 22 All this took place to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: 23 "Look, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall name him Emmanuel," which means, "God is with us." 24 When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, 25 but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son; and he named him Jesus.  (NRSV)

Joseph’s loyalty begins with his compassion toward Mary.  Under the circumstances of her pregnancy the law of Moses required that she be stoned to death.  But Joseph, being “just” our scripture says, which really means compassionate more than fair, plans to dismiss her quietly.   That means he is willing to break the law in order to serve the higher law of being compassionate, something Joseph had probably heard about in the prophets, like Isaiah.  Joseph listened to that higher law of compassion rather than the letter of the law of Moses.  Now as he was considering the problem of Mary’s pregnancy and probably even fuming over it (the Greek word there can be translated considering or fuming) Joseph suddenly has a visit from an angel, who reassures him.  “Don’t worry about taking Mary as your wife.  This child she is having is conceived by the Holy Spirit.  This is God’s Son she’s carrying.”

Would that be reassuring to you?   Hey, don’t worry this baby you’re going to raise is God’s Son.  At some level all wise parents know their children belong to God more than them, but in Joseph’s case with Jesus, it is even more so..  He must be a man of faith.  He could have left Mary and gone to be registered in Bethlehem alone.  Women and children were not required for that.  But Mary goes with Joseph.  He protects her in a time when women had to be protected. 

Joseph demonstrates loyalty by his determination to keep Mary safe.  Jesus surely learned some of this loyalty, some of these nurturing ways from his stepfather Joseph.  Of course, there’s nature and nurture.  By nature Jesus is human and divine.  He is God’s child and Mary’s child.  By nurture he is raised by Joseph and Mary.  Think of the time he spent with Joseph, of all he learned from watching him, and of his observation of the love between his parents.  How did Jesus know the law and the prophets so well that he could quote them, except that Joseph and Mary had taught him the Jewish faith well.

For these four Sundays of Advent, we have been focused on the gift of peace given to four different characters.  Isaiah, who helped us see the vision of peace.   Elizabeth and Zechariah, parents of John the Baptist, who encouraged us to prepare the way of the Lord. Mary, the Mother of our Lord, who challenged us to think about what it really means to radically open to God and turn the world upside down. And Joseph, who shows us that sometimes we must defy religious law and customs to be compassionate, to serve, to receive the gift of God.  Each of these characters have helped us to see who Jesus is and what it means to embrace the peace that he brings.

The two names given to Joseph “Jesus” and “Immanuel” help us to appreciate the meaning of this glorious season.  In this tiny helpless infant, born to a most unlikely couple, who had several visits from angels, God was saving the world by coming to be with us.  And when God comes to be with us all divisions between people are removed. God does love everyone. That’s the message of the Christmas.  And that’s why Christmas bells ring even for those who doubt God exists, because deep down in their souls, they feel the spirit of Christmas and they know that it is much more than bright lights on houses and colorfully wrapped presents under decorated trees.  The real magic of Christmas is the presence of a God who wanted to be fully with us in order to save us.

So whether you are called to bear a gift from God, to embody the gift, or whether you are like Joseph, called to receive the gift that initially seemed like more of a curse than a blessing – certainly a gift he did not want, remember that God’s gifts always have the ultimate purpose of bringing peace to all people. Whether you are like a shepherd with no money in your pocket or a king with the ability to bring valuable gifts, whether you are a pregnant young women, overwhelmed by news that you are carrying God’s Son, or a loyal fiancé, trying to be compassionate and do the right thing, whether you are lonely this Christmas or your house is loud and boisterous, whether you are confident in your long-standing faith or you are a new and uncertain Christian, God in Jesus Christ is saving you by being with you in life and in death, in joy and in sorrow, in calm and in fear.   Put your trust in the One who is a gift that you sometimes think you don’t want.  Receive this gift in faith and trust that it is the best gift ever!

Embodying Peace

3^rd Sunday of Advent

Embodying Peace  
Luke 1:39-56
15 December 2013
Elizabeth M. Deibert

How big is your God?   Sometimes it seems part of our human condition that we want to shrink God down to a size we can comprehend, a size that feels manageable, not too far out of our control.   But the Holy One keeps breaking in to show us the magnitude of glory and power and love that God is.  This has been one of those years we’ve seen God breaking through our smallness to show us amazing things.  It has been fun to tell the story to people who stop by or call or ask at Presbytery.   We had a visit from a fellow Presbyterian from Northminster, who stopped by to find out what was happening with us.  He said, “I thought you had that five acre site on Lorraine Road.   What happened?”  What happened?  God happened.  God had some great plans for us that we could not see without some other plans failing.  God had some great plans for us that we could not see for fear of failure, but we learned to trust.  Even a week ago, the Admin Team was learning to trust that we would find the means to get through these next two years, preserving money for the sanctuary, but by God’s faithfulness, we are getting there.  What we have to do is listen for God’s voice, and embody Christ’s peace.  We have to welcome the Holy Spirit to impregnate us with Christ’s peace, such that we can operate out of a place of security and trust.   After hearing the startling, life-threatening news of her pregnancy by the Holy Spirit) Mary said, “Let it be with me according to your word.”   Then she went to visit her cousin Elizabeth.  Let us learn from faithful Mother Mary how to embody the peace of Christ.

Luke 1:39-56

³⁹In those days Mary set out and went with haste to a Judean town in the hill country, ⁴⁰where she entered the house of Zechariah and greeted Elizabeth. ⁴¹When Elizabeth heard Mary's greeting, the child leaped in her womb. And Elizabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit ⁴²and exclaimed with a loud cry, "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb. ⁴³And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me? ⁴⁴For as soon as I heard the sound of your greeting, the child in my womb leaped for joy.

⁴⁵And blessed is she who believed that there would be a fulfillment of what was spoken to her by the Lord."

⁴⁶And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the Lord, ⁴⁷and my spirit rejoices in God my Savior, ⁴⁸for he has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant. Surely, from now on all generations will call me blessed; ⁴⁹for the Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. ⁵⁰His mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. ⁵¹He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts. ⁵²He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; ⁵³he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty. ⁵⁴He has helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy, ⁵⁵according to the promise he made to our ancestors, to Abraham and to his descendants forever." ⁵⁶And Mary remained with her about three months and then returned to her home.

 (NRSV)

Elizabeth knows how to bring out the faith of another.   She blesses Mary and praises the God for Mary’s gift.   Think about doing that with your friends and family over Christmas.   Give them your blessing and praise God for the good things you see God doing in their lives.  Elizabeth called Mary blessed.  Elizabeth called Jesus, the fruit of Mary’s womb, blessed.  Why did she say that Mary was blessed? Because Mary believed, she trusted the word of the Lord.   That’s why Blessed Mother Mary was venerated by the whole church for 1500 years, then somewhat ignored by the Protestant part of the church, who were anxious not to call her divine, but who lost something valuable when we stopped paying careful attention to her faithfulness. 

How can we not hold Mary in highest human regard, for she is the god-bearer, the one who carried Christ, not just an ordinary child.   She embodied Immanuel.  Talk about being receptive to God!   Mary was!  Mary is worthy of our fullest regard and honor.   She is not only the mother of our Lord, but she represents the church, as we are called to embody Christ for the world.   She has shown us what it means when we sing, “let every heart to prepare him room.”   Christina Rossetti wrote a beautiful poem about gifts for Christ:  What can I give him, poor as I am, if I were a shepherd, I would bring a lamb.  If I were a wise man, I would do my part.  What can I give him, give him my heart.  Mary gave him chromosomes.   Mary gave God her womb, and by her gift, a new covenant of love with us was born.   God became one of us, and by living with us and suffering with and for us, dying and rising, he defeated death for us.  We have much for which to be thankful at Christmas, but maybe today, we should simply give thanks to the One who bore for us savior, when half-spent was the night.   Thanks, Mary, for listening to the Angel and believing this incredible news so you could live courageously into it, despite the risk of all family and cultural disapproval.  

As I was working on this sermon, I remembered a setting of the Magnificat by Rory Cooney written in 1990, to the traditional Irish folk tune: County Down.   To me both the music and the words speak of the courage of a young woman, who is embodying the God who comes to bring peace and justice for all.   

My soul cries out with a joyful shout
that the God of my heart is great,
And my spirit sings of the wondrous things
that you bring to the one who waits.
You fixed your sight on the servant's plight,
and my weakness you did not spurn,
So from east to west shall my name be blest.
Could the world be about to turn?

Though I am small, my God, my all,
you work great things in me.
And your mercy will last from the depths of the past
to the end of the age to be.
Your very name puts the proud to shame,
and to those who would for you yearn,
You will show your might, put the strong to flight,
for the world is about to turn.

From the halls of power to the fortress tower,
not a stone will be left on stone.
Let the king beware for your justice tears
every tyrant from his throne.
The hungry poor shall weep no more,
for the food they can never earn;
These are tables spread, ev'ry mouth be fed,
for the world is about to turn.

Refrain:

My heart shall sing of the day you bring.
Let the fires of your justice burn.
Wipe away all tears,
For the dawn draws near,
And the world is about to turn.

And… the… world… is… about… to… turn.

 

Paraphrase of Luke 1:46-58 (Magnificat)
Words: Rory Cooney (1990)
Music: STAR OF THE COUNTY DOWN (Irish Traditional Folk Song)

It is impossible to overestimate the significance of Mary’s hymn, the Magnificat.   The only extended speech in Luke given by a female character, it casts Mary as a prophet.  In the tradition of Hannah and Miriam in the Hebrew Scriptures, Mary celebrates God’s unfolding salvation of her people Israel.   She announces God’s compassion for the lowly and introduces a key theme of Jesus’ ministry – the reversal of social structures.  “Mary proclaims the topsy-turvy future of God as an already accomplished fact—possibly because that future can already be glimpsed in God’s choice of Mary as the bearer of the Messiah. The song proclaims the reality and promise that the singer embodies…” 

Her song inspired the Feast of Fools celebration in Medieval times, as people had a little fun reversing the social status and privileges of people, not taking themselves so seriously.  (Feasting on the Word)  Her song has inspired the generosity of many at Christmas, including and invites us all to imagine that this world does not have to be so radically divided between rich and poor.  Economic injustice should always be a concern to faithful Christians, because our Scriptures call us to another way, the way championed by Mary’s Song.   We may have different ideas about how to solve the problem of the growing wedge in our economy, but we cannot be indifferent.  Mary affirms that the God who came to us in Jesus Christ lifts up the lowly and fills the hungry with good things.  And the first words out of Jesus when he began his ministry were, “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me …to proclaim good news to the poor.”  

We are to embody the will of God like Mary, who one verse is saying peacefully “Here am I, servant of the Lord, let it be with me according to your Word.”   And a few verses later is boldly announcing God’s concern for justice.  That kind of courage and receptiveness to God’s word is what made her the perfect servant of God, mother of Christ, and model for the church.   “Where meek souls will receive him, still the dear Christ enters in.”   For Christ to enter, we have to get ourselves out of the way.   We cannot have an ego so large and boastful or so small and insecure that there’s no room for the Spirit’s implantation of fruit, spiritual fruits in us, Christ in us.   It takes a spacious place to hold all the fullness of God.  We cannot explain the logic of God growing in Mary’s womb any more than we can understand what happens to us in the Eucharist when we receive Christ by faith, and become Christ for the world.   But we simply say humbly and receptively with Mary, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me, according to your word.”

Preparing for Peace

2^nd Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:67-80 and Matt 3:1-6                                          

8 December 2013

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                         

Preparing for Peace, capital P, has been exhausting and exhilarating.   We’ve been preparing to move into this new home for a month or more, and after one week here, I’ve got to admit, I am very tired.  So this past week, I slowed down a little to hoping to appreciate the wonderful people around me.  At this time of year, many of us engage in energy-intensive preparations for Christmas.   We are so busy shopping and decking the halls with boughs of holly and going to parties that we become impatient with the people around us, we find it hard to pause for worship and to reflect on the real reason for the season.   We lose the peace of Christmas, that light that comes to shine in the darkness, that birth of a child who will reconcile us to God, that gift of all gifts – the gift of the incarnation that saves us and calls us into a new life of love, of reaching out to those who are suffering, as Immanuel always does with us.  

Zechariah had been visited by the Angel Gabriel.  He was silenced by this visitation.  If we had been in a forced silent reflection like Zechariah for nine months, we might have a little more perspective on the significance of the moment.  These are the first words of Zechariah after a prison of silence. 

Luke 1:67–80 and Matthew 3:1–6

⁶⁷ Then his father Zechariah was filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke this prophecy:

⁶⁸ “Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has looked favorably on his people and redeemed them.  ⁶⁹ He has raised up a mighty savior for us in the house of his servant David, ⁷⁰ as he spoke through the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, ⁷¹ that we would be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us.  ⁷² Thus he has shown the mercy promised to our ancestors, and has remembered his holy covenant,⁷³ the oath that he swore to our ancestor Abraham, to grant us ⁷⁴ that we, being rescued from the hands of our enemies, might serve him without fear, ⁷⁵ in holiness and righteousness before him all our days.

⁷⁶ And you, child, will be called the prophet of the Most High; for you will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, ⁷⁷ to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.
⁷⁸ By the tender mercy of our God, the dawn from on high will break upon us, ⁷⁹ to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace.”  ⁸⁰ The child grew and became strong in spirit, and he was in the wilderness until the day he appeared publicly to Israel.

 In those days John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness of Judea, proclaiming, ² “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is the one of whom the prophet Isaiah spoke when he said,                        “The voice of one crying out in the wilderness:
                                                 Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight.”

⁴ Now John wore clothing of camel’s hair with a leather belt around his waist, and his food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ Then the people of Jerusalem and all Judea were going out to him, and all the region along the Jordan, ⁶ and they were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.                                 (New Revised Standard Version)

This song that Zechariah sang on the eighth day, when John was circumcised and named is called the Benedictus, which is the Latin word for blessed.   In the first part there are seven active verbs of which God is subject.  God has looked with favor on us and redeemed us.  God has raised up a mighty Savior as God promised us.  God has saved us from our enemies.  God has shown mercy and remembered his covenant.    In other words, God has been faithful.  God has not let us down, even when we were faithless.  God has kept his promises to us.  These words are uttered by Zechariah before the birth of Jesus, but they speak of the Savior as if he already is.  Remember Luke is crafting the story, knowing already the life and death and resurrection of Jesus.

We then, being rescued by God, are called to serve God without fear, in holiness and righteousness all our days.  It is important to note that we are first rescued.  God doesn’t call to us when we are drowning in the deep waters of fear, sin and death, and tell us to swim to shore so God can forgive us.  No, God rescues us.  Then we are called to serve without fear of death and in thankfulness for our rescue.  Our holiness and righteousness are in response to his rescue.  

The Old Testament reminds the Israelites sixty times that it was God who brought them out of slavery in Egypt.  Our grateful response is to live holy and joyful lives.

John the Baptist is called the prophet of the Most High, the forerunner.  He goes to prepare the way, to give knowledge of forgiveness.  John prepared the way for the first coming of Christ.  We Christians are called to prepare the way for the second coming, which we anticipate during Advent.  Our responsibility, like John’s, is to share the good news of God’s forgiveness.   We tell people that God forgives them and we embody God’s forgiveness in our own lives.  You see, if you are really in touch with the fact that you nearly drowned and God rescued you, you cannot help but be filled with gratitude and with forgiveness of others.   And you want to share it.  You want to invite someone to come to church with you to hear this news next week because this is good news. 

You might want to share the good news in this season simply by being extremely kind. Random acts of kindness are a great way to share the good news.   Pay the toll for the person behind you on the Skyway Bridge.   Buy someone’s coffee at Starbucks.   Give a harried person your place in the line at the grocery store or the mall.  Give an angel gift to the families at Beth-El.  If people ask you why you are being kind, tell them because it’s Christmas or because you want to share Christ’s love.   What a great way to prepare for Christmas – to engage in random acts of kindness.   For followers of Jesus Christ, the one who showed us the fullness of love, kindness should not be random but regular.   Expressions of love should not be occasional but often, for it is that love that defines who we are.

It is that reconciling love, that peacemaking love that God sends us in the Incarnation, in the birth of Christ.   Twice in Zechariah’s song, we hear that we are rescued from our enemies, from those who hate us, from those who would do us wrong.   But this salvation is not for revenge, but for healing of the relationship – that we might serve God without fear, and might be faithful and true, the Biblical words are holy and righteous, and I’d like you to think of those words in a better light.  When we hear holy and righteous, we often hear holier than thou and self-righteous.  But John like his cousin Jesus, never leaves us in a self-righteous place. No true Christian can hold that attitude. 

No, John he challenges us to prepare for the light of the coming of Christ by being humble, by repenting, which means turning away from sin and turning toward God.

The last two verses of Zechariah’s song are the beautiful promise of what God will do.  That promise is what gives hope to those longing for peace.  By tender mercy, God will make the dawn break upon us, giving light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, guiding us in the way of peace.   This message is peace is just what we need – whether we are stuck in a dark place of our own making or whether we have landed in a dark prison of another’s abuse or neglect.  We are people who know the Prince of Peace.   We know God’s tender mercy is always bringing peace by liberating those who are oppressed and giving hope to those who feel forsaken.   

A beautiful example of one who prepared for peace in the dark silence of oppression without losing hope, is Nelson Mandela.   Imprisoned for 27 years for taking a strong stand for the civil rights of the native people of South Africa, he faced years of mistreatment, hard labor, and considerable isolation.  Not allowed except every six months for an hour, somehow in that small cell on Robben Island he held to a vision of peace, and built relationships of reconciliation with his captors, without letting his passion for justice wilt.   The remarkable thing about this man, whose life changed the world in the direction of peace is that once he was elected President, just four years after his release from the prison, he used his power to continue to rebuild relationships, not to take advantage of those who had brutalized him and so many others.   While in his early years, circumstances require him to be fiery advocate for justice, a radical like John the Baptist, the mature Mandela knew how to prepare for peace by making peace, being kind and gracious as President even to those who had despised and mistreated him for decades.   Three days after Mandela’s death, let us hear a tribute to his life as a peacemaker in the poem of Dr. Maya Angelou.

 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PqQzjit7b1w

The Promise of Peace

1st Sunday of Advent
Isaiah 2:1-5 and 11:1-9
1 December 2013
Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                         

 

It is easy this time of year to find decorations, wall hangings, ornaments, and cards, all announcing peace.   But do we really stop to think what an audacious thing it is to announce peace when anyone can look around and see, there is no peace.   There is no peace when children are still suffering hunger and want.  There is no peace when countries are still torn apart by warfare and greed.  There is no peace when families and friends are grieving losses, or struggling with the effects of addiction or estrangement.  

There is no complete peace, but in Advent we dare to dream of peace and to announce peace.   We give ourselves permission to imagine a world at peace, a community at peace, a home at peace.   And this year, a worshiping and serving community, dares to plant a church named Peace on a piece of land, in a great act of trust, believing that Christ will bring peace, asserting that is worth our money, time, and energy to prepare for that peace by building a place where we and others might be blessed by inspiring worship, authentic relationships, nurturing discipleship, compassionate outreach, and responsive stewardship..   On this peaceful site, where the ibis and the raccoon and the deer dwell together, we have been working hard to renovate while we think of all the new people who will surely come to be at peace with us, to make God known by growing as disciples of Jesus Christ, building a community of peace, and caring for the needs of others. 

Advent is a time for waiting, for longing, and for trusting in the sure promise of peace, even when we cannot see it clearly, for working for it, even when building bridges and breaking down walls is difficult.   Paul tells us Christ is our peace.   He has broken down all the barriers that divide us.   Before Paul, Isaiah imagined the world into which God’s peace would come and transform enemies into allies, foes into friends, and strangers into supportive companions.

Hear with me this vision of the prophet, who wrote at a time of great political turmoil in the southern kingdom of Judah, around the turn of the 7^th century before Christ.   In the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah, there are four key themes:  God’s holy and sovereign power, Jerusalem as the chosen city, David’s household as the elect dynasty, and the preservation of a faithful remnant.   We are reading two Advent lessons which promise peace.   The first reading is best known by the last verse:    They shall beat their swords into plowshores and the spears into pruning hooks.   Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war anymore.   The second reading is best known by its image of the all the animals living in peace together – often summarized by the one image of the lion lying down with the lamb.  The promise of peace from the prophet Isaiah:

The word that Isaiah son of Amoz saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem.² In days to come the mountain of the Lord’s house shall be established as the highest of the mountains, and shall be raised above the hills; all the nations shall stream to it.  ³   Many peoples shall come and say, “Come, let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; that he may teach us his ways  and that we may walk in his paths.” For out of Zion shall go forth instruction, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. ⁴ He shall judge between the nations, and shall arbitrate for many peoples they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more…

¹¹ A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots. ² The spirit of the Lord shall rest on him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. ³ His delight shall be in the fear of the Lord.  He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide by what his ears hear; ⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt around his waist, and faithfulness the belt around his loins.  ⁶ The wolf shall live with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the kid, the calf and the lion and the fatling together, and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze, their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox.  ⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put its hand on the adder’s den. ⁹ They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.   (New Revised Standard Version)

The political situation of Jerusalem is dominated by a “stump.”  The longing, the imagination of  Israel is powered by “the spirit.” The crisis of Israel’s present and Israel’s future is the deep conflict and contest between the stump and the spirit. The “stump” is the “stump of Jesse” (Isa.11:1). Allusion to Jesse, father of David, refers us to the dynastic line of David’s family, believed to be the carrier of God’s goodness and God’s faithfulness in the world. That dynasty, however, had come on very hard times. The “stump” symbolizes a situation of despair and resignation.   (Walter Brueggemann, Texts for Preaching: Lectionary Commentary on Year A, p. 11)

What is the stump in our time?   Have we lost hope in the American dream?   Perhaps that dream has been too rooted in American notions of success than American notions of service for the sake of others. And what about you in your own personal struggles?  Have you lost hope in the promise of peace?  What is God trying to show you, to teach you in your present turmoil?   What we see in  Isaiah is the promise of God’s life-giving Spirit when despair was rampant. 

This Spirit, this “wind of God” is powerful, irresistible, and beyond human control. The prophet announces that the wind has come to blow over the stump.  We tend to see only what is there – the stump, not what can be, the shoot bringing promise by the power of the Spirit.   Notice, church family, the power of the Spirit at work in the life of this church, bringing us to this exciting day full of promise.  There’s a lot more to do, but there’s sure promise for Peace.  Whether you recovering from something, grieving, or experiencing challenges of any kind, you can see the glass half empty or half full.  

You can see a stretched budget and so many needs, or you can do as so many have done and give time, money, energy to fulfill needs.  Same with all the troubled regions of the world where warfare seems unending, where human trafficking is ruining the lives of children and teens, where greed rules and the weak suffer indignities unimaginable.  We can despair and see only the stump or we can pray with hope for peace, sending gifts to those suffering after the typhoon, or taking angels from the tree to buy for impoverished farmworker families in our neighboring county.  

It is easy to fall into despair, but we are the people of Peace, who are charged to remember the promises of God.   And we, because we have come so far in our short history as a new church, we of all people should be able to trust in God’s promises.

The spirit will prevail over the stump! The wind will win, for the stump is not mentioned again in the passage. What is promised is a new peaceful creation, in which the brutality is tamed and the deathliness is overcome.  The oldest of enemies—wolf-lamb, leopard-kid, calf-lion, cow-bear, lion-ox—are made friends. We thought it wasn’t possible, but the spirit of God has transformed death to life.  Sound familiar – death to life.  In the midst of this peaceful transformation, three times a child is mentioned: “a little child” (v. 6), “the nursing child,” “the weaned child” (v. 8). The little child may be the new shoot of Jesse who will preside over new creation. More broadly, “the little child” bespeaks the birth of a new innocence in which trust, gentleness, and friendship are possible and appropriate.  (Brueggemann, as above)

The world will be ordered, so that the fragile and vulnerable can have their say and live their lives.  The new possibilities depend on the spirit – the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of knowledge and deep respect for God.   That wind of the Spirit is blowing, blowing hard this week at Peace. The little child who comes to us at Christmas, the one for whom we now wait, is the one who is God’s promised peace, a peace fully present, even though the peace he brings is not fully realized.   He was the embodiment of this Spirit described here.

In Advent’s new beginnings we can sink down into the stump as victims of all the hard knocks of live or we choose to trust the new winds of Christ’s spirit and shoot up with confidence against the hopelessness of the this stumpy world.   Believe in the promise of peace that Jesus Christ brings this world.  Believe it and live it, people of Peace.  Believe it, live it, and rejoice in it.  Immanuel is coming to you.   He is the promise of peace. 

Joyfully Giving Thanks

Christ the King

Colossians 1:9b-20
24 November 2013
Elizabeth M. Deibert

When I was growing up Thanksgiving Day was always a time of gathering with my mother’s side of the family.  There were four siblings, and they took turns hosting the feast, but of course, everyone brought food.   The host family cooked the turkey and rice and gravy.   Aunt Peggy always made sweet potato casserole, not the kind with marshmallow but with crunchy nuts and brown sugar on top.   Uncle Jimmy always made coconut cake.   My mom made squash casserole with cheese on top and pecan and chess pies.   My uncle Rowland, the Baptist minister/professor and his wife Mary V, the best-dressed aunt, would tell a family history story in tandem, interrupting and correcting each other all along the way.  Their son, the eldest cousin became an expert on genealogy, so he would join in and make the story even longer.  Uncle Frank parked himself in front of the television, determined not to miss the football game.  My dad was usually milling around asking questions and listening to people.   I was the youngest cousin by six years, so it was my job to take care of my cousin’s babies, as they began to get married and have them.   We stopped gathering for thanksgiving many years ago, but I will always remember that thanksgiving is about celebrating the bounty that God has given you.  There was always more food than anyone could eat.   But more importantly, Thanksgiving was a time to appreciate your shared inheritance, your family, those who had gone before you and those who were coming after you.   It did not really matter who was in the family, or what they did or how different they were.   We were all part of something larger than ourselves and we were together to remember that and give thanks to God. 

The scripture we are reading today refers to our inheritance, for which we are called to give thanks and to realize that we are part of something far larger and deeper and broader than we can possibly comprehend.

This family into which we have been adopted is a family of great resources:  wisdom and strength, knowledge and power, of light and forgiveness, and fullness and peace.   This scripture, like the one in Philippians 2 is thought to be one of the oldest pieces of liturgy or hymns in the church – the part that starts in verse 15 – he is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation.   It probably was recited in the early church, even before this letter to Colossians was written.   Along with the Christ hymn of Philippians, these words make some high and lofty claims about Christ.   And what better day to read these words than on the day the church celebrates the reign of Christ over all creation!   As I read this text, I invite you to say the word “all” with me every time it occurs.

Colossians 1:9b - 20

We have not ceased praying for you and asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, ¹⁰ so that you may lead lives worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, as you bear fruit in every good work and as you grow in the knowledge of God. ¹¹ May you be made strong with all the strength that comes from his glorious power, and may you be prepared to endure everything with patience, while joyfully ¹² giving thanks to the Father, who has enabled you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the light. ¹³ He has rescued us from the power of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of his beloved Son, ¹⁴ in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. ¹⁵ He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶ for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.  (NRSV)

Paul desires and prays fervently for the new church in Colossae that they would lead lives worthy of the Lord, bearing fruit in every good work by being filled with the knowledge of God in all spiritual wisdom, strong in the power of God, and prepared to endure everything with patience and with thanksgiving.  

This desire for Christian maturity should be our desire for one another, as it is the most important, most enduring, most ultimately sustaining and life-giving thing we can want for one another.   It is my prayer for you and the prayer of all your elders for you.   At the session meeting on Thursday night, we walked through the building, stopping to pray for the youth in their wing, the children in their rooms, and all the people in the music ministry.   We prayed for kindness and love to be spoken in the small fellowship hall which has been renamed the café and that we would never stop learning and growing in our adult meeting rooms.   We prayed that Christ would inspire us all in the new chapel and as we stood by the fountain, we gave thanks for the beauty of God’s overflowing love. 

I have joy like a fountain as the walls are coming down at Peace.  Denny has turned that mucky wretch of a fountain into a grace-filled work of art, Troy and Bob have done some amazing work on breaking down the walls and gates that divide us or crowd us.   Jim and Sherry have met with all kinds of contract people for on-going care of the property while Don, Chuck, and Henry have been setting up budgets, and financial and technological systems for our new home.  Last Sunday we had at least sixty Peace Pioneers there turning a land and building into a home.   Gerry Palmer washed windows for three days.   It was a joyous sight to see all of you painting, laying landscape timbers, washing floors, tearing down walls, and cleaning and organizing rooms.   Some sights were better left unseen – like lumberjacks Tom, Rod, and Richard hanging from the trees like monkeys, cutting branches that nearly impaled their friends as they came crashing down.   One thing is clear – this is a church of the people, by the people, and for the people.   If you have not been out yet, we hope you will come today, and will consider your own commitment to Peace for the sake of present and future generations.

Think about how the letters of Paul and others and the Gospel writers have shaped future generations by their enormous effort in a time when preserving words and passing them to others was not just the click of a button.  

Think about those who spent a lifetime in Great Britain or continental Europe building a cathedral that would bring glory to God long after they were gone.   We are building a community of faith that will outlast us and why?

Because we have seen that Christ is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation; ¹⁶ for in him all things in heaven and on earth were created, things visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or powers-- all things have been created through him and for him. ¹⁷ He himself is before all things, and in him all things hold together. ¹⁸ He is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything. ¹⁹ For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, ²⁰ and through him God was pleased to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, by making peace through the blood of his cross.  (NRSV)

We are experiencing this fullness of God, in the Christ who has made Peace.   The warmth you feel in this place is the Spirit of Christ moving among people who are thankful for the peace of Christ which renews all things and leads us to forgive as we are forgiven.   It is not a trouble-free, worry-free existence.  No, Paul prays for them, as I pray for you, that you will be able to endure everything with patience.   If it were easy, you would not need to endure it.   The life of a Christ-follower is not easy, but it is wonderful and amazing, because this life is full of grace, as the choir will sing later.  

The wonder of this life is that Christ is everywhere and in all things.  Do you realize just how radical it is to say that in Christ all things were created, that in Christ all things hold together, that in Christ all things are reconciled?   This is a bold and exciting claim – that Christ is before, in the middle, and making peace in the end.  So we say with St Patrick and Christians through the generations.   Christ be with me, Christ within me.   Even in the face of terrible Typhoons and Tornadoes, Christ behind me, Christ before me.   Even in the presence of weird, troubled, and sometimes wonderful relatives and friends, whom you are glad to see depart on Thanksgiving afternoon, Christ beneath me, Christ above me.   Even in times of concern, of financial or relational strain, of illness or even approaching death, Christ in my waking, Christ in my sleeping.  

This cosmic Christ is the reason for our joyful thanksgiving every year – not just the good years.  Because Christ is before us and behind us and between us, everywhere by his Spirit sustaining us and filling us, we can travel on with confident joy, even in challenging times, even when we are uncertain or afraid.   

On this day that we Pioneers of Peace walk out of this one place where the Spirit of God has touched us and blessed us, and we give thanks for the sweet, sweet spirit in this place.  But we also know that Christ goes on with us to the new place, and that God has a plan for us there, a future filled with hope and promise.   Please remind yourselves not to fret over all the details and the differences, but to endure the all the changes with patience, knowing that God has brought us there to make of us a blessing to others.   Most of all, remember this amazing free gift of grace turns us from lost to found, from darkness to light, from having sin-sick souls to people who can say despite the storms of life, “it is well with my soul.”  

This inheritance into which we are reborn in baptism and sealed in Christ’s name makes us richly blessed in every way.   You know someone who is destined to inherit a lot doesn’t need to worry.   Notice that our inheritance as children of God in this passage is a done deal – God has already enabled us to share in it.  It is ours by grace to celebrate.  We are brothers and sisters of the King, the one who is in all and through all from the beginning of time until its end.  He is not just King of the Christians, but King of the Cosmos.  In the name of Jesus  Christ our King we travel from here to there waiting eagerly for all that is in store for us. We are confident that we will be made strong by the strength of his glorious power, as we seek evermore to put Christ first in everything and to live lives worthy of his name.  

 

First Fruits of Peace

 

Dedication Sunday

Deuteronomy 26:1-11                                                      

17 November 2013

Elizabeth M. Deibert                                                         

My brother Curt, who lives with my mom, grows roses.  He has four rose gardens with about 20-30 bushes each.   He tells me that the first set of blooms, the first fruits of spring are by far the most spectacularly beautiful.  

We who live in the two season land of SW Florida, who grow things in the winter and in these modern times of mass transportation enjoy fruit from all around world in every season, have a hard time appreciating the notion of first fruits.   But some of us can remember well that it was a real gift to land in strawberry season or apple season or orange season, or corn season, and enjoy the first fruits of the long-awaited season.   In the Bible, references to first fruits are almost always associated with thank-offerings.   This notion of giving one’s first fruits originates in Ancient Israel and Greece with the requirement of the first tenth of the produce harvested being given to the priest or sacrificed to God.   The leftovers after the harvest, called the gleanings, were to be left for the poor.  

 So in Biblical times, the idea was, you took the first of your produce – first 10^th and gave it – in a rather obligatory way as your gift of responsibility to God.   Then out of kindness you left the corners of the field, the last, hard-to-reach parts of the tree to be harvested by those most desperately needy.   You lived on the middle 80 percent of your harvest.   It’s kind of like the way we ask you on Dedication Sunday to commit to pledging a particular percentage of your income each year.   As a young pastor, I used to avoid talking about giving – challenging the congregation.   But I have seen personally and have seen in others the real joy that comes from giving generously.   Giving not ‘til it hurts, but until it feels really good!  If you’re uncomfortable, it may be because you have not given enough to catch the joy and freedom that comes with giving until you feel good.   We just don’t get it sometimes.

One time on Dedication Sunday this ten year old kid was at lunch with his parents after church, he started asking about the tip money left on the table.   After they got in the car, the kid says, “So let me get this straight, God gets 10% and the waiter gets 15 or 20?   That doesn’t make sense.”  The math for 10% is easy but the giving level can be daunting.   I encourage you to start with a small percentage.   If you are barely making it, think of growing into a tithe, increasing your pledge each year.   Sometimes the joy of giving can overwhelm you – like the two guys who walked out of church with just their boxers on.   Standing outside the church, half-naked, the one guy says to the other – that was the best sermon on giving I’ve ever heard.   

Okay, well, trust me, I want you keep your clothes on, but just stretch a bit beyond your comfort zone in your generosity because we can do so much together here at Peace – that we cannot do separately.   Eight years ago, we did not exist except as an idea.   But people began to give their first fruits of time, talent, and treasure – and Peace became a church.  First fruits – off the top of our paycheck or monthly income because we know we are likely to spend what’s left, if we don’t give to God first.  But then in there are opportunities at Peace and in any faith community to give what’s left (the gleanings) to special offerings for other people.   So it’s like a sandwich with top and bottom going to God and neighbor and the middle of the sandwich is for yourself.

Speaking of special offerings, we are collecting today for the victims of the typhoon in the Philippines.  I read yesterday the heart-wrenching story of a twenty-seven year-old family breadwinner who died from complications of a broken leg.  I watched a video of two children, whose parents were crushed under rubble while they, the kids huddled together and miraculously lived.   What a desperate situation.   Let us allow our hearts to be broken for our Filipino brothers and sisters.  I also saw the story of a church which is being used for shelter, with people sleeping on the pews, even while continuing to hold services.   So we ask for gleanings – leftovers for the most needy today, even on the same day that we ask for a commitment from you about first fruits of next year.  With thanksgiving, with gratitude.  

As the Israelites were charged to remember that they were once slaves in Egypt and that it was God who brought them out and gave them a land.   So we as we make our pledges and offerings each year and each week are challenged to remember that all we have comes from God.   The reason we are so joyful about having our “promised land” is that we have been tenants for eight years.   The joy of the congregation over having our own land and building is fresh now, but we must not forget from where we have come and how God brought us here.    

I’d like to ask the early founders of Peace to stand up.  Gary and Junie, and then everyone else who dreamed early, who met on Sunday nights at Living Lord Lutheran.   Then those who arrived in our first year of worship at MCC.   You believed God could do this thing, despite looking around and seeing 30-40 people.   Please remain standing now, while I ask all the charter members who came in time to be at Peace on that great day in October of 2009 when Peace New Church Development became an official church in the PC(USA).   Without you coming along as the first fruits of our ministry in the college and in our homes and at the park, we would have fallen in discouragement.    But you took the yoke from our shoulders and plowed the earth, and made us a real church, not just a little group of people wishing they were a church.   Please continue standing.

About a year later, we moved to this location for a new season of harvest.   Please stand if you came to Peace after charter, in 2010 or 2011, a surge of new growth for the church, which made us confident for the first time that we might one day afford a building to house our ministry.   Here we saw the fruit of having 24/7 space to conduct our ministries.   We moved tables and chairs, but we left nursery and classrooms and offices all week long – what a joy!   Keep standing now as we add all who have come in 2012 and 2013 to Peace – even those who have not joined yet but who are coming and thriving and celebrating with us.   You are the ones who have made it possible for us to go to our “promised land.”   You have ridden this year’s roller coaster with us, without screaming or running away while our plan kept evolving.  Build here – NO!  buy this foreclosed church – NO, moldy!   Wait a minute, here’s the place God is calling us to go and what a perfect plan –only we did not know until now when God’s time was right.   Thank you, everyone.   You may be seated.

So now our wandering has ended, our fear of failure is behind us, we have landed, Peace will settle, but not really – not in a lazy way.   Because you see, harvest time is every year, and in Florida, all year long, and especially in winter.   Peace has a home, but not to sit down and rest.   Peace has a home into which we can welcome more workers into God’s field.    Peace has a home from which we can go out to harvest, to serve, to love.   Peace has a home to nurture faith, hope, and love in children, youth, and adults at every stage of life, so they have more to take with them into the world where others are hurting and need peace.   Hear how God calls the Israelites to enter the land, taking the first fruits and giving them up and not just giving them up, but recounting the challenging story of how God lead them to the Promised Land.    The gifts and the story are to remind them to have grateful and generous hearts, especially after they are blessed with a land and its wealth.
  

                                           Deuteronomy 26:1-11

When you have come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you as an inheritance to possess, and you possess it, and settle in it, ² you shall take some of the first of all the fruit of the ground, which you harvest from the land that the Lord your God is giving you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place that the Lord your God will choose as a dwelling for his name. ³ You shall go to the priest who is in office at that time, and say to him, “Today I declare to the Lord your God that I have come into the land that the Lord swore to our ancestors to give us.” ⁴ When the priest takes the basket from your hand and sets it down before the altar of the Lord your God, ⁵ you shall make this response before the Lord your God: “A wandering Aramean was my ancestor; he went down into Egypt and lived there as an alien, few in number, and there he became a great nation, mighty and populous. ⁶ When the Egyptians treated us harshly and afflicted us, by imposing hard labor on us, ⁷ we cried to the Lord, the God of our ancestors; the Lord heard our voice and saw our affliction, our toil, and our oppression. ⁸ The Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with a terrifying display of power, and with signs and wonders; ⁹ and he brought us into this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. ¹⁰ So now I bring the first of the fruit of the ground that you, O Lord, have given me.” You shall set it down before the Lord your God and bow down before the Lord your God. ¹¹ Then you, together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given to you and to your house.    (New Revised Standard Version)

Together with the Levites and the aliens who reside among you, you shall celebrate with all the bounty that the Lord your God has given you.   So you see, all the bounty that is ours over at 12705 Highway 64 has been given us for our sharing with others.  It is not just for us.

And we celebrate that so many of you have given so much of yourselves – remembering that the church is not just here to serve you – but you to serve God in the church.   What a joy to watch you stream into our new property all week long, tackling tasks!   Gia and I could barely get any worship work done this week the building was so alive with excited people.  I can hardly wait to see the building and grounds full of you this morning, as we leave this place and go there.  

As those of old their first fruits brought, so we bring the first fruits of our time, our talent, and our treasure to God.

Peace would not be here, apart from each of you and the role you play.   When I invited you to consider who needed to be thanked, most of you named names and honestly there were so many names mentioned that I cannot begin to name sixty or eight people by name with all that you have done for Peace.   So here’s my summary of all you said:  “Thank the newer Peace family members who have really contributed to this move.”  Others of you said, thank the people who founded the church and served on three different teams to keep it going.   Many of you said, “Thank the people who have given so generously of their resources so we could afford this property, and thank those who have given so much time, working on this purchase and the predecessor decisions, and all who have scrubbed and carried and cleaned – here at MAR but also at college, and most of all, at our new home, and to all who will do so today.  

Thank the quiet people who are always here, working behind the scenes to help children, to make coffee, to set up for worship, help in the office, or take attendance so we know who might be missing, might be struggling.   Thank all the people who are so caring, so attentive to people and all those who teach any age. 

Thank God for those who were with us previously and have died or moved or moved on to other callings.  Thank the task masters who organize and lead.   Thank the role models, whose peaceful personalities, whose spirit of gratitude, whose encouraging love, whose faith and prayer sustains us all.   Thank all the talented people who make music and design artfully and inspire us all.   Thank those who pick up jobs dropped by others, without hesitation.   Thank those who never said “no” to any job and tell them you will do it this time so they don’t have to. Thank those who never get discouraged, even in discouraging times.   Thank all people at Peace for being the people of Peace, loving God, loving one another, loving beyond the church to the community and world.   Thank you for being gracefully and lovingly determined to fulfill our mission to make God known by growing as disciples, building a community of peace, and caring for the needs of others.