1 Corinthians 12:12-13:8a
Ordinary Time
Elizabeth M. Deibert
It’s been a tough couple of weeks. Hasn’t it? Though we are not there, we have scenes of earthquake victims in our heads and on our hearts. Every time we turn on the television or go online or open the paper, there’s more bad news. On top of that, as if that were not enough, we still have friends and family members struggling with illness. We have broken or difficult relationships, wounding deeply. And financial strain.
But when we remember Haiti and we know it’s not so bad. We’re not buried under rubble. We haven’t lost house and friends and family and job and city all at once. We have clean water, a comfortable bed, plenty of food and reasonable access to medical care.
Deborah Sontag of the New York Times found the Rev. Joseph Lejeune preaching last Sunday:
"Think of our new village here as the home of Jesus Christ, not the scene of a disaster," he called out over a loudspeaker. "Life is not a disaster. Life is joy! You don't have food? Nourish yourself with the Lord. You don't have water? Drink in the spirit." (Images of Haiti praying, crucifix still standing in demolished church)
And drink they did, singing, swaying, chanting and holding their noses to block out the terrible stench of the bodies in a collapsed school nearby.
So as we worship on this Sunday, our first worship service since this tragedy, as we think about what it means to be the body of Christ, we do it, knowing that part of the body is suffering deeply. And as we discussed at our session meeting on Tuesday night, we may not have all the answers to questions of God’s power and God’s love in the face of such tragedies, but we hold tightly to our faith, seeing how the Haitians are holding to theirs, even while hope of finding friends and family members under concrete is gone, even while medical supplies are insufficient to take care of the injured, even while food, drink, and shelter are all uncertain, even while burying the dead with dignity is not a possibility. But we affirm with scripture that God is our light in the darkness. We say with Paul that “We know that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope, and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
Those are the Apostle Paul’s words to the Romans.
But to the Corinthians, who were embattled with one another, who were using their various gifts and strengths against one another, instead of for one another, Paul had different words. To the Corinthians, who from the top of the world, where they could look down on everyone below, Paul has some challenging words about unity, not uniformity, but unity amidst diversity. Paul uses body language to help the Corinthians appreciate how each part is essential to the effective functioning of the body. He then makes it clear that no part should think itself more important than the other. He is especially concerned that the weaker members of the body receive greater attention and honor. He concludes by reminding us that no gift, nothing we do as part of the body is of any value unless it is full of love. Love is the language which makes the body whole.
Hear the word of the Lord from 1 Corinthians.
We were not supposed to read chapter 13 today, according to the lectionary, the set readings. Only the second half of chapter 12. We were supposed to stop with these words: “And I will show you a still more excellent way.” But why? Just because some scholars in the 1500s divided it here. Everything in chapter 12 about the caring for every single part of the body leads to the love chapter. When chapter 12 talks about suffering together and rejoicing together, it is referring to love, as described in chapter 13.
When Paul says in chapter 12 that God has appointed all these varied gifts and he says with a rhetorical question that nobody has the same gifts and nobody has all the gifts needed, he then speaks of the very same gifts in 13 and says, “Those gifts are nothing without love. You are nothing without love. I am nothing without love.”
It doesn’t matter how much you know. You can be the most intelligent person in the world. You can be the wealthiest person in the world. You can be the most popular person in the world. You can be the most generous person in the world. You can be the most powerful person in the world. But if you don’t have love to go with that success, those smarts, that generosity, then you’re really useless.
You’ve experienced this. Some time in your life, I bet you’ve had a teacher or professor or coach who was really smart or talented, but you could tell that that teacher or coach did not really care about you as a person, so the information was just that, information with little value. But another teacher or coach, maybe less intelligent, cared enough to impart knowledge with some love, and it made a tremendous difference in your life.
A friend. I bet you’ve had a friend at some point in your life. One whom you thought you could trust, whom you thought you respected, but then in the blink of an eye, that friend tossed you away like an unwanted body part. Chop. Or perhaps you’ve been a friend who used others only for what gain they could be. Maybe you’ve treated those who could move you to higher places with greater dignity, but all for selfish gain.
Preachers – some of them are eloquent. Some of them have you hanging on every word. Beautiful quotes, just the right intonation. But if there’s no relationship to go with that preaching, it’s not much more than entertainment. If when you’re dying, the pastor at your bedside doesn’t know something of your life and family, then all that eloquence begins to fade.
Generous givers. If we give away some phenomenal amount of money to Presbyterian Disaster Assistance for Haiti and we are well on our way with $3500 from a church this size, it will be of little value if we’re not praying for the Haitians, suffering with them, doing what we can in concrete ways, even from this distance. Our partnership with Beth-El is all the more meaningful because we have a relationship. We are there every Thursday, giving our hearts as well as our money and our time.
This sermon was originally intended to be a challenge to everyone to get involved in the ministries of the church. Do your part as member of the body. Step on up. Come, be a hand. Be a foot. Be an ear. But after watching earthquake victims in Haiti for ten days, all I really want to say is this: Live the body language of love. That’s all that matters. Love people. Love people. Love people more than you love yourself.
Set aside all the striving to be right, to be better than someone else, to get things done your way. There’s way too much competition in this world...striving for good grades...striving to get ahead at work...striving for attractive, sexy bodies.... striving to make it financially...striving to impress people...striving to create the perfect life. The Corinthians were striving, competing for all these things. And it doesn’t exist. There is no perfection. There is only love. Really, love is all that matters. And who shows us that best but Christ – who had it all power, intelligence, popularity and he gave it up for the sake of love.
Love is patient and kind, not envious, boastful or rude. Master patience and kindness and you’ve accomplished something really amazing. No envy, boasting, or rudeness. That takes constant prayer. Constant prayer. Love does not insist on its own way. That is really tough when your way is clearly the best way. Love is not irritable. More and more I learn that I must sleep more, slow down, keep tabs on my mental health, and stay in touch with God’s affirmation of love to be capable of loving others. Love is not resentful, and always rejoices in the good, not in the wrong, especially not in someone else being wrong.
It does not matter whether you are right. Even if you have the right answer, the loving thing to do is to care about someone else’s answer. It does not matter whether your needs get met. What matters is that you put your needs second to someone else’s. It does not matter whether you have made tremendous contributions to this church or any other organization (contributions of time, talent, or resources). What matters is that you cared about the people here – even those who were able to make fewer contributions.
If you die tonight, will people say, “Wow, he really loved people. Wow, nobody cared for others like her.” Be the body bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. That’s the language of love, and that is how a body becomes truly beautiful, glorious, divine.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Sunday, January 10, 2010
Beloved by God
Isaiah 43:1-3a
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Sermon by Rev. William J. Kemp
For many years, William Willimon was Dean of the Chapel at Duke University. He is now a United Methodist Bishop in Alabama. He tells the story of how as a high school student going out on dates his mother would bid him goodbye with weighty words, “Don’t forget who you are.” “You know what she meant,” he says. “She did not mean that I was in danger of forgetting my name and my street address. She meant that, alone on a date, in the midst of some party, in the presence of some strangers, I might forget who I was. I might lose sight of the values with which I had been raised, answer to some alien name and engage in some unaccustomed behavior. ‘Don’t forget who you are,’ was her maternal benediction as I left home.” 1
Fred Craddock is from the Disciples of Christ tradition and has been a teacher of preachers for many years. He tells of an experience he had as the “chaplain for the week” at the Fannin County Hospital in Georgia. A baby was born the week he was serving as chaplain – a rather unusual experience in that little 30-bed hospital that is usually filled with elderly patients.
It was about nine o’clock in the morning and he saw a group of people gathered, looking through the nursery window. He took a peak and saw the tiny baby that had caught the attention of the clan of people gathered about the window.
Craddock asked, “Is it a boy or a girl?” “It’s a girl,” the reply came quickly. “What’s the name?” “Elizabeth.” “Who’s the father?” “I am,” came a voice from the middle of the crowd.
Because Elizabeth was crying at the top of her lungs, Craddock thought that perhaps the new father was concerned, and so he said to the young man, “Don’t worry. She’s not sick. It’s good for babies to scream and do all that. It clears out their lungs and gets their voices going. It’s all right.”
The young father replied, “Oh, I know she’s not sick. But she’s mad as all get out.” Craddock replied, “Really? You think she’s mad?” The young man replied, “Well, wouldn’t you be mad? One minute you’re with God in heaven and the next minute you’re in Georgia.”
Taken aback by that comment, Craddock replied, “You believe she was with God before she came here?” “Oh, yeah,” was the immediate reply. Craddock said, “You think she’ll remember?”
The father said, “Well, it’s up to her mother and me and the whole the church to see that she remembers and never forgets God.”2
Baptism is one of the gifts of God’s grace that helps us to remember. In baptism we hear our name in a way that we don’t hear it when we read the words our parents filled out on our birth certificates. We hear it pronounced by the voice of the Lord that is over the waters; a voice that is powerful and full of majesty.3
What do we hear? “I have called you by name, you are mine.”4 Yes, those words were first addressed to the nation, Israel, at a time when she felt beat up by everyone, including God. The comforting words of the prophet reminded the people that neither flood nor fire, no any of life’s trials, would overwhelm them so they need not be afraid. “I will be with you … I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”5
Because of Jesus, we can still hear the prophet’s words, but in a most personal way. I have called you William John, you are mine. You are my beloved son. Yes, that word was heard first by Jesus at his baptism. It was his ordination to ministry, his empowerment for ministry, a ministry that brought the same word to each and every person he touched: You are God’s beloved child, with you God is well pleased.
Isn’t it a bit much to say that God is well pleased with us, imperfect and disobedient people that we are? No, because God doesn’t make junk and God always looks more at what we can become than at what we have done. Jesus trusted God’s love for him completely. He loved God completely. No wonder he turned the world upside down. Don’t you think that if we trusted completely God’s love for us and, in turn, loved God completely that we could do the same? Jesus said if we believe in him we would do even greater works than he did.6
In baptism, God calls us by name! Maya Lin who is the designer of the Vietnam Memorial explains why her remarkable work has come to have such a strong grip upon the emotions of the American people. "It’s the names," she said, "the names are the memorial. No edifice or structure can bring people to mind as powerfully as their names." I remember an old Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown says, “I love [humankind], it’s people I cannot stand.” Not so with God. God not only loves humankind (“For God so loved the world”7) God loves each and every one of us – by name! (“that God gave his only Son”).
Not only does God call us by name, in our baptism God says, I like you. I really like you! Judi Creneti tells me that at the end of every session of Godly Play (the Sunday School class for first and second graders) the children gather in a circle, hold hands and say, We are God’s beloved children. WOW! For children to hear that each and every week (and where else will they ever hear such a word except in the Christian community?) and for them to grow up believing that word can only help them to develop a healthy sense of self-worth as well as to learn to value everyone else as a child loved by God.
One of our jobs as a congregation is to help them remember that, by helping them to remember their baptism and by remembering our own baptism. A few weeks ago, Pastors Elizabeth and Tricia sent us all an e-mail urging all of us to acknowledge “the privilege of spending time with our younger people and sharing our lives and learning with them … Know that it takes a village or better, a whole church family, to raise children well. We, as a congregation, communicate the love of God to them by the depth of our care.” Then they listed all the names of our children, youth and college students.
Here, gathered as we are in the name and good company of Jesus Christ, everyone can sing as we can sing no where else:
I count if I am ninety
Or nine of just a baby
There’s one thing I am sure about
And I don’t mean maybe.
I am the church…8
Unfortunately, over the centuries Christians have preferred to argue about baptism, such as its theological meaning, the proper age at which it should be administered and the amount of water used. This year we read the story of Jesus’ baptism in Luke’s gospel. It might be better if we only had his version because it is wonderfully ambiguous and void of details that might lead to heated arguments. We don’t know from Luke if John actually baptized Jesus, that is only inferred, or if it took place in a river, or if Jesus was sprinkled, poured or dunked. Luke simply writes, “Now when all the people were baptized and Jesus also had been baptized …” Luke focuses more on what happens after one is baptized. Read the whole third chapter. “What should we do?” the crowds asked.9 Luke’s short answer can be heard in a verse from the prophet Micah: “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.”10 For Jesus, his baptism led him to enter a life of prayer so he could grow in relationship with his heavenly Father.
A Presbyterian and a Baptist were arguing. The Presbyterian asked the Baptist if he considered a person baptized if he was immersed in water up to his waist. “No,” said the Baptist. “Do you consider him baptized if he is immersed in water up to his neck?” Again the Baptist’s answer was: “No.” “Well now,” said the Presbyterian, “suppose you immersed him up to his eye-brows? Would you consider him baptized then?” “No,” came the answer. “Well, then, there you have it!” said the Presbyterian. “It’s only the little bit of water on the top of the head that counts!”
Come on, people of God. In this hate-filled and fear-filled world, aren’t there better ways for us to direct our energies? I confess that I abbreviated the lectionary reading from Isaiah 43 by ending with verse three. After the bulletin was printed and the power point finalized, I realized that was a dumb decision. The fourth verse reads, “Because you are precious in my sight…”
Precious! I have not seen the controversial movie, Precious, but it has been on my list of must-see-movies ever since I read a short article by Barbara Bush in Newsweek11 in which she encouraged people to see it. Her interest in the film grows out of her life-long devotion to fighting illiteracy.
Precious is the story of an obese and illiterate African-American teenager growing up in poverty in the 1980s. One columnist writes, “Precious is an ode to refusing to die. She is a girl struggling to live an unlivable life, 16 years old, illiterate, sexually abused by both parents, mother of two children (one with Down Syndrome) sired by her father, physically and verbally beaten down by her monster of a mother and yet, somehow unable to give in to the idea that she is nothing and her name, nobody.”12
I wanna say I am somebody. I wanna say it on subway, TV, movie, LOUD. I see the pink faces in suits look over top of my head. I watch myself disappear in their eyes ... I talk loud but still I don't exist
Mrs. Bush writes that what saves Precious from a life of despair is a teacher who helps her learn to read and write. At one point Precious expresses the feeling she has that nobody likes her. “But I like you,” the teacher protests. And she says it in a way that reveals she doesn’t say just it to make Precious feel better, but because she really does like her. It confirms my long held conviction that teaching is among life’s higher callings.
I wonder if Precious would have been able to learn to read and write if she didn’t have a teacher who really liked her. And I can only imagine how her life could be transformed to the nth degree had she heard this word from the Creator of the universe: Precious, do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine … you are my beloved daughter, with you I am well pleased. To hear that word and to feel it in the refreshing and cleansing waters of baptism is the difference between life and death. Our calling, the highest calling anyone can have, is to remember our baptism, to remember that we are the daughters and sons of the living God and to regard every person in the way that God has regarded us, whether or not they have been touched by the waters of baptism.
1 Remember Who You Are, (Nashville: The Upper Room, 1980), p. 105
2 Craddock Stories, pages 126,127, adapted
3 See Psalm 29, the appointed Psalm from today’s lectionary
4 Isaiah 43:1
5 Isaiah 43:3
6 John 14:12
7 See John 3:16
8 Song by Avery and Marsh
9 Luke 3:10
10 Micah 6:8
11 December 3, 2009
12 Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald, November 25, 2009
Luke 3:15-17, 21-22
Sermon by Rev. William J. Kemp
For many years, William Willimon was Dean of the Chapel at Duke University. He is now a United Methodist Bishop in Alabama. He tells the story of how as a high school student going out on dates his mother would bid him goodbye with weighty words, “Don’t forget who you are.” “You know what she meant,” he says. “She did not mean that I was in danger of forgetting my name and my street address. She meant that, alone on a date, in the midst of some party, in the presence of some strangers, I might forget who I was. I might lose sight of the values with which I had been raised, answer to some alien name and engage in some unaccustomed behavior. ‘Don’t forget who you are,’ was her maternal benediction as I left home.” 1
Fred Craddock is from the Disciples of Christ tradition and has been a teacher of preachers for many years. He tells of an experience he had as the “chaplain for the week” at the Fannin County Hospital in Georgia. A baby was born the week he was serving as chaplain – a rather unusual experience in that little 30-bed hospital that is usually filled with elderly patients.
It was about nine o’clock in the morning and he saw a group of people gathered, looking through the nursery window. He took a peak and saw the tiny baby that had caught the attention of the clan of people gathered about the window.
Craddock asked, “Is it a boy or a girl?” “It’s a girl,” the reply came quickly. “What’s the name?” “Elizabeth.” “Who’s the father?” “I am,” came a voice from the middle of the crowd.
Because Elizabeth was crying at the top of her lungs, Craddock thought that perhaps the new father was concerned, and so he said to the young man, “Don’t worry. She’s not sick. It’s good for babies to scream and do all that. It clears out their lungs and gets their voices going. It’s all right.”
The young father replied, “Oh, I know she’s not sick. But she’s mad as all get out.” Craddock replied, “Really? You think she’s mad?” The young man replied, “Well, wouldn’t you be mad? One minute you’re with God in heaven and the next minute you’re in Georgia.”
Taken aback by that comment, Craddock replied, “You believe she was with God before she came here?” “Oh, yeah,” was the immediate reply. Craddock said, “You think she’ll remember?”
The father said, “Well, it’s up to her mother and me and the whole the church to see that she remembers and never forgets God.”2
Baptism is one of the gifts of God’s grace that helps us to remember. In baptism we hear our name in a way that we don’t hear it when we read the words our parents filled out on our birth certificates. We hear it pronounced by the voice of the Lord that is over the waters; a voice that is powerful and full of majesty.3
What do we hear? “I have called you by name, you are mine.”4 Yes, those words were first addressed to the nation, Israel, at a time when she felt beat up by everyone, including God. The comforting words of the prophet reminded the people that neither flood nor fire, no any of life’s trials, would overwhelm them so they need not be afraid. “I will be with you … I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.”5
Because of Jesus, we can still hear the prophet’s words, but in a most personal way. I have called you William John, you are mine. You are my beloved son. Yes, that word was heard first by Jesus at his baptism. It was his ordination to ministry, his empowerment for ministry, a ministry that brought the same word to each and every person he touched: You are God’s beloved child, with you God is well pleased.
Isn’t it a bit much to say that God is well pleased with us, imperfect and disobedient people that we are? No, because God doesn’t make junk and God always looks more at what we can become than at what we have done. Jesus trusted God’s love for him completely. He loved God completely. No wonder he turned the world upside down. Don’t you think that if we trusted completely God’s love for us and, in turn, loved God completely that we could do the same? Jesus said if we believe in him we would do even greater works than he did.6
In baptism, God calls us by name! Maya Lin who is the designer of the Vietnam Memorial explains why her remarkable work has come to have such a strong grip upon the emotions of the American people. "It’s the names," she said, "the names are the memorial. No edifice or structure can bring people to mind as powerfully as their names." I remember an old Peanuts cartoon in which Charlie Brown says, “I love [humankind], it’s people I cannot stand.” Not so with God. God not only loves humankind (“For God so loved the world”7) God loves each and every one of us – by name! (“that God gave his only Son”).
Not only does God call us by name, in our baptism God says, I like you. I really like you! Judi Creneti tells me that at the end of every session of Godly Play (the Sunday School class for first and second graders) the children gather in a circle, hold hands and say, We are God’s beloved children. WOW! For children to hear that each and every week (and where else will they ever hear such a word except in the Christian community?) and for them to grow up believing that word can only help them to develop a healthy sense of self-worth as well as to learn to value everyone else as a child loved by God.
One of our jobs as a congregation is to help them remember that, by helping them to remember their baptism and by remembering our own baptism. A few weeks ago, Pastors Elizabeth and Tricia sent us all an e-mail urging all of us to acknowledge “the privilege of spending time with our younger people and sharing our lives and learning with them … Know that it takes a village or better, a whole church family, to raise children well. We, as a congregation, communicate the love of God to them by the depth of our care.” Then they listed all the names of our children, youth and college students.
Here, gathered as we are in the name and good company of Jesus Christ, everyone can sing as we can sing no where else:
I count if I am ninety
Or nine of just a baby
There’s one thing I am sure about
And I don’t mean maybe.
I am the church…8
Unfortunately, over the centuries Christians have preferred to argue about baptism, such as its theological meaning, the proper age at which it should be administered and the amount of water used. This year we read the story of Jesus’ baptism in Luke’s gospel. It might be better if we only had his version because it is wonderfully ambiguous and void of details that might lead to heated arguments. We don’t know from Luke if John actually baptized Jesus, that is only inferred, or if it took place in a river, or if Jesus was sprinkled, poured or dunked. Luke simply writes, “Now when all the people were baptized and Jesus also had been baptized …” Luke focuses more on what happens after one is baptized. Read the whole third chapter. “What should we do?” the crowds asked.9 Luke’s short answer can be heard in a verse from the prophet Micah: “Do justice, love kindness and walk humbly with God.”10 For Jesus, his baptism led him to enter a life of prayer so he could grow in relationship with his heavenly Father.
A Presbyterian and a Baptist were arguing. The Presbyterian asked the Baptist if he considered a person baptized if he was immersed in water up to his waist. “No,” said the Baptist. “Do you consider him baptized if he is immersed in water up to his neck?” Again the Baptist’s answer was: “No.” “Well now,” said the Presbyterian, “suppose you immersed him up to his eye-brows? Would you consider him baptized then?” “No,” came the answer. “Well, then, there you have it!” said the Presbyterian. “It’s only the little bit of water on the top of the head that counts!”
Come on, people of God. In this hate-filled and fear-filled world, aren’t there better ways for us to direct our energies? I confess that I abbreviated the lectionary reading from Isaiah 43 by ending with verse three. After the bulletin was printed and the power point finalized, I realized that was a dumb decision. The fourth verse reads, “Because you are precious in my sight…”
Precious! I have not seen the controversial movie, Precious, but it has been on my list of must-see-movies ever since I read a short article by Barbara Bush in Newsweek11 in which she encouraged people to see it. Her interest in the film grows out of her life-long devotion to fighting illiteracy.
Precious is the story of an obese and illiterate African-American teenager growing up in poverty in the 1980s. One columnist writes, “Precious is an ode to refusing to die. She is a girl struggling to live an unlivable life, 16 years old, illiterate, sexually abused by both parents, mother of two children (one with Down Syndrome) sired by her father, physically and verbally beaten down by her monster of a mother and yet, somehow unable to give in to the idea that she is nothing and her name, nobody.”12
I wanna say I am somebody. I wanna say it on subway, TV, movie, LOUD. I see the pink faces in suits look over top of my head. I watch myself disappear in their eyes ... I talk loud but still I don't exist
Mrs. Bush writes that what saves Precious from a life of despair is a teacher who helps her learn to read and write. At one point Precious expresses the feeling she has that nobody likes her. “But I like you,” the teacher protests. And she says it in a way that reveals she doesn’t say just it to make Precious feel better, but because she really does like her. It confirms my long held conviction that teaching is among life’s higher callings.
I wonder if Precious would have been able to learn to read and write if she didn’t have a teacher who really liked her. And I can only imagine how her life could be transformed to the nth degree had she heard this word from the Creator of the universe: Precious, do not fear, for I have redeemed you: I have called you by name, you are mine … you are my beloved daughter, with you I am well pleased. To hear that word and to feel it in the refreshing and cleansing waters of baptism is the difference between life and death. Our calling, the highest calling anyone can have, is to remember our baptism, to remember that we are the daughters and sons of the living God and to regard every person in the way that God has regarded us, whether or not they have been touched by the waters of baptism.
1 Remember Who You Are, (Nashville: The Upper Room, 1980), p. 105
2 Craddock Stories, pages 126,127, adapted
3 See Psalm 29, the appointed Psalm from today’s lectionary
4 Isaiah 43:1
5 Isaiah 43:3
6 John 14:12
7 See John 3:16
8 Song by Avery and Marsh
9 Luke 3:10
10 Micah 6:8
11 December 3, 2009
12 Leonard Pitts, Miami Herald, November 25, 2009
Sunday, January 3, 2010
"Whose Party is This?"
EPHIPHANY
Grant Lowe
What is this about?
The Gospel is for all: Gentile magi, the inclusive Gospel.
God’s acts are available for all who are able to discern them
Reconciliation.
Hope.
IDENTITY DISRUPTED
As we sit here in our comfortable pews this morning I want to ask you to go in your mind’s eye with me back in time and think about the situation of those early Christians, those people who were part of the church before there really was a “church”. The very first ones, the apostles, were all Jews, they had lived out their lives following Jewish laws and customs, repeating the prayers, going up to the temple, making the required sacrifices, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. These Jews had followed this Jesus from Nazareth, believed him to be the one they had looked for over the centuries, and their hopes were dashed at the crucifixion and then beyond imagination by the resurrection. In their excitement their enthusiasm spread to others, their circle of believers grew their fellow Jews and even the Romans who occupied their land made fun of them, ridiculed them, and derisively called them “christianoi” as an epithet. But the followers of Jesus were excited by the resurrection and the awesome experience of Pentecost, so nothing would slow them down, and so they grew rapidly in numbers. That rapid growth of the followers of Jesus the Christ was followed by new persecutions of Jews and Christians, and many fled the persecution but they spread of the news about Jesus wherever they went, beyond Israel into the provinces with their dominant Greek culture. So now people who had not been part of the Jewish community were responding to the Gospel. The Jewish didn’t work for these new folks. They were accepting Jesus as Lord and savior but they weren’t Jewish and hadn’t been circumcised and didn’t abide by all the rules. Now imagine yourself a new member in the congregation at Antioch and reading Matthew’s manuscript as a new members manual and you read there the very first people to worship Jesus were not even Jewish, but were foreigners, outsiders to the faith, like you maybe. What does that tell you?
Matthew is written to Jewish Christians and draws much connection between Jesus and their Scriptures, especially the prophets. However, Matthew also continuously makes the point that God’s revelation in Jesus is intended for all people, beginning with the story of the magi. The Jewish faithful, taught to keep certain customs and rules to maintain their identity when that identity was being threatened in their exile experience in Babylon but Jesus didn’t recognize those boundaries, so he told the story of the good Samaritan and commented that the Roman military officer exhibited faith greater than any he had seen in all Israel. The dividing walls are being destroyed. Mathew conveys this in dramatic terms in his gospel beginning with the story of the magi, goyim, ethnos, non-Jews who came and paid homage to the Christ, therefore God intended the Gospel for all. Jesus would actually have dinner with people proper folks would have nothing to do with. “We are God’s special people, Abraham is our father” they said and John the Baptist says, I paraphrase “Don’t give me that! God can raise up children out of the stones of the ground as children of Abraham.”
Jesus says “I tell you many will come from the east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven”.
The magi came in reverence, with gifts fit for a king, they were submissive. Matthew makes this point up front in our face with the story of the magi, astrologers, outsiders to the faith, not children of Abraham, foreigners.
RECONCILIATION ON A PERSONAL LEVEL
Jack Rogers, former moderator of the GAS tells the story of being in Puerto Rico in a beautiful sanctuary of a good size church in an urban area. The pastor of the church was showing him around and told the story that one of his elders was the head of a labor union which was on strike against a corporation the VP of which was a member of the congregation. The feelings were running high. The corporate VP came to the pastor and asked him to bring communion to her mother who was very ill. Presbyterian practice is to have an elder accompany the pastor in celebrating the sacrament in the home. The session there had a rotation of the elders for serving communion to shut ins and it was the labor union leader’s turn. The pastor said if you want to avoid this service I will find someone to take your place. The labor leader replied “If I cannot do this I do not deserve to be an elder”. The pastor and elder arrived at the home at the appointed hour and when the corporate VP opened the door she was at first shocked by whom she saw. Then both she and the labor union leader wept and embraced. Being able to put animosities aside because of our common loyalty to Christ; that is reconciliation.
What is the significance of Jesus Christ in a religiously pluralistic world?
Let me conclude by saying that the changes taking place in our world, the anxiety of war and bloodshed, the continuing economic slowdown, the cults of extremism that arise in times of change and instability, these changes may shape the style of our mission. They will not of themselves diminish our zeal to continue to offer Good News to a spiritually hungry and hurting world. The strength and effectiveness of our ministry together will only be determined by our own hearts and how we respond to Christ's call in our time.
New times teach new duties, and the Roman Catholic theologian Hans Kung gives us some clues about how the church can be faithful in a changing world.
The church of the future is NOT a church
that is indifferent in its faith, shallow in its thinking, or timid in its action;
or that is captive to its history, always putting on its brakes,
or suspiciously defensive when called to act boldly;
or that is closed to change or blind to problems;
or that is quarrelsome, impatient, or unfair in its internal dialogue;
or that is closed to what is happening in God's world.
In short, the church that bears faithful witness to Christ in the future will not be the church that is dishonest.
The church of the future IS the church
that relies upon God's Grace and Wisdom;
that proclaims a God it does not fully know;
that knows the power of God and is in touch with its own weaknesses;
that is strong in faith, joyous,
and able to be thankful even with uncertainties about everything save God alone;
that is filled with intellectual desire beyond its ability to know;
that has spontaneity and animation, and shows fruitfulness in its worship;
that has courage to take risks.
In short, the church that will bear faithful witness in the future is
the church that is honest.
Let me take a moment to comment on our last hymn, which is unusual in several respects. The word for God in this hymn in Gitche Manitou, in the Anishinaabe languages of the Algonquin, Ojibwa and others
Manitou is a common Algonquian (Anishinaabe) term for spirit, mystery, or deity.
Gitche Manitou means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian (Anishinaabe) languages. The term was also utilized to signify God by Christian missionaries, when translating scriptures and prayers, etc. into the Algonquian languages.
Gichi-manidoo, Great Spirit, is the Creator of all things and the Giver of Life, and is sometimes translated as the "Great Mystery." Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection.
According to Anishinaabe-Ojibwa tradition, what became known as Mackinac Island in Michigan was the home of Gitchie Manitou. The people would make pilgrimages there for rituals devoted to the spirit.
This is the same term found in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha,
The term manitou refers to the concept of one aspect of the interconnection and balance of nature/life. Everything has its own manitou— every plant, every stone and, since their invention, even machines. These manitous do not exist in a hierarchy like European gods/goddesses, but are more akin to one part of the body interacting with another and the spirit of everything; Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection..With the coming of Christian missionaries and their need to translate the idea of monotheism, "Gitche Manitou" meaning "Great Spirit" was coined. Gitche Manitou has been seen as those cultures' analogue to the
Christian God
The "Huron Carol", found in our Presbyterian Hymnal, is a hymn written in 1643 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Herons’ in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, he is born"). The song's melody is based on a traditional French folk song, "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton.
The hymn uses imagery familiar to the Herons’ in place of the traditional Nativity story. Jesus is born in a "lodge of broken bark", and wrapped in a "robe of rabbit skin". He is surrounded by hunters instead of shepherds, and the Magi are portrayed as "chiefs from afar" that bring him "fox and beaver pelts" instead of the more familiar gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Just as Paul took an Athenian god to proclaim the Gospel, so the Jesuit missionaries took the Huron word for Great Spirit, and used it to show how God communicates with us through the Christ.
In the United States, the song was included as "Jesous Ahatonia" on Burl Ives's 1952 album Christmas Day in the Morning and was later released as a Burl Ives single under the title "Indian Christmas Carol."
God has given us a mission, if we are willing to accept it. I don't believe we are called to a narrowly "religious" enterprise, but to bear witness to the lord who calls us to carry glad tidings to a tired and hurting world; and to live out in our lives our understanding of the profound unity of the peoples of the earth and God's continuing creativity in the world.
Amen.
Grant Lowe
What is this about?
The Gospel is for all: Gentile magi, the inclusive Gospel.
God’s acts are available for all who are able to discern them
Reconciliation.
Hope.
IDENTITY DISRUPTED
As we sit here in our comfortable pews this morning I want to ask you to go in your mind’s eye with me back in time and think about the situation of those early Christians, those people who were part of the church before there really was a “church”. The very first ones, the apostles, were all Jews, they had lived out their lives following Jewish laws and customs, repeating the prayers, going up to the temple, making the required sacrifices, looking forward to the coming of the Messiah. These Jews had followed this Jesus from Nazareth, believed him to be the one they had looked for over the centuries, and their hopes were dashed at the crucifixion and then beyond imagination by the resurrection. In their excitement their enthusiasm spread to others, their circle of believers grew their fellow Jews and even the Romans who occupied their land made fun of them, ridiculed them, and derisively called them “christianoi” as an epithet. But the followers of Jesus were excited by the resurrection and the awesome experience of Pentecost, so nothing would slow them down, and so they grew rapidly in numbers. That rapid growth of the followers of Jesus the Christ was followed by new persecutions of Jews and Christians, and many fled the persecution but they spread of the news about Jesus wherever they went, beyond Israel into the provinces with their dominant Greek culture. So now people who had not been part of the Jewish community were responding to the Gospel. The Jewish didn’t work for these new folks. They were accepting Jesus as Lord and savior but they weren’t Jewish and hadn’t been circumcised and didn’t abide by all the rules. Now imagine yourself a new member in the congregation at Antioch and reading Matthew’s manuscript as a new members manual and you read there the very first people to worship Jesus were not even Jewish, but were foreigners, outsiders to the faith, like you maybe. What does that tell you?
Matthew is written to Jewish Christians and draws much connection between Jesus and their Scriptures, especially the prophets. However, Matthew also continuously makes the point that God’s revelation in Jesus is intended for all people, beginning with the story of the magi. The Jewish faithful, taught to keep certain customs and rules to maintain their identity when that identity was being threatened in their exile experience in Babylon but Jesus didn’t recognize those boundaries, so he told the story of the good Samaritan and commented that the Roman military officer exhibited faith greater than any he had seen in all Israel. The dividing walls are being destroyed. Mathew conveys this in dramatic terms in his gospel beginning with the story of the magi, goyim, ethnos, non-Jews who came and paid homage to the Christ, therefore God intended the Gospel for all. Jesus would actually have dinner with people proper folks would have nothing to do with. “We are God’s special people, Abraham is our father” they said and John the Baptist says, I paraphrase “Don’t give me that! God can raise up children out of the stones of the ground as children of Abraham.”
Jesus says “I tell you many will come from the east and west and sit at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the Kingdom of heaven”.
The magi came in reverence, with gifts fit for a king, they were submissive. Matthew makes this point up front in our face with the story of the magi, astrologers, outsiders to the faith, not children of Abraham, foreigners.
RECONCILIATION ON A PERSONAL LEVEL
Jack Rogers, former moderator of the GAS tells the story of being in Puerto Rico in a beautiful sanctuary of a good size church in an urban area. The pastor of the church was showing him around and told the story that one of his elders was the head of a labor union which was on strike against a corporation the VP of which was a member of the congregation. The feelings were running high. The corporate VP came to the pastor and asked him to bring communion to her mother who was very ill. Presbyterian practice is to have an elder accompany the pastor in celebrating the sacrament in the home. The session there had a rotation of the elders for serving communion to shut ins and it was the labor union leader’s turn. The pastor said if you want to avoid this service I will find someone to take your place. The labor leader replied “If I cannot do this I do not deserve to be an elder”. The pastor and elder arrived at the home at the appointed hour and when the corporate VP opened the door she was at first shocked by whom she saw. Then both she and the labor union leader wept and embraced. Being able to put animosities aside because of our common loyalty to Christ; that is reconciliation.
What is the significance of Jesus Christ in a religiously pluralistic world?
Let me conclude by saying that the changes taking place in our world, the anxiety of war and bloodshed, the continuing economic slowdown, the cults of extremism that arise in times of change and instability, these changes may shape the style of our mission. They will not of themselves diminish our zeal to continue to offer Good News to a spiritually hungry and hurting world. The strength and effectiveness of our ministry together will only be determined by our own hearts and how we respond to Christ's call in our time.
New times teach new duties, and the Roman Catholic theologian Hans Kung gives us some clues about how the church can be faithful in a changing world.
The church of the future is NOT a church
that is indifferent in its faith, shallow in its thinking, or timid in its action;
or that is captive to its history, always putting on its brakes,
or suspiciously defensive when called to act boldly;
or that is closed to change or blind to problems;
or that is quarrelsome, impatient, or unfair in its internal dialogue;
or that is closed to what is happening in God's world.
In short, the church that bears faithful witness to Christ in the future will not be the church that is dishonest.
The church of the future IS the church
that relies upon God's Grace and Wisdom;
that proclaims a God it does not fully know;
that knows the power of God and is in touch with its own weaknesses;
that is strong in faith, joyous,
and able to be thankful even with uncertainties about everything save God alone;
that is filled with intellectual desire beyond its ability to know;
that has spontaneity and animation, and shows fruitfulness in its worship;
that has courage to take risks.
In short, the church that will bear faithful witness in the future is
the church that is honest.
Let me take a moment to comment on our last hymn, which is unusual in several respects. The word for God in this hymn in Gitche Manitou, in the Anishinaabe languages of the Algonquin, Ojibwa and others
Manitou is a common Algonquian (Anishinaabe) term for spirit, mystery, or deity.
Gitche Manitou means "Great Spirit" in several Algonquian (Anishinaabe) languages. The term was also utilized to signify God by Christian missionaries, when translating scriptures and prayers, etc. into the Algonquian languages.
Gichi-manidoo, Great Spirit, is the Creator of all things and the Giver of Life, and is sometimes translated as the "Great Mystery." Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection.
According to Anishinaabe-Ojibwa tradition, what became known as Mackinac Island in Michigan was the home of Gitchie Manitou. The people would make pilgrimages there for rituals devoted to the spirit.
This is the same term found in Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's The Song of Hiawatha,
The term manitou refers to the concept of one aspect of the interconnection and balance of nature/life. Everything has its own manitou— every plant, every stone and, since their invention, even machines. These manitous do not exist in a hierarchy like European gods/goddesses, but are more akin to one part of the body interacting with another and the spirit of everything; Historically, Anishinaabe people believed in a variety of spirits, whose images were placed near doorways for protection..With the coming of Christian missionaries and their need to translate the idea of monotheism, "Gitche Manitou" meaning "Great Spirit" was coined. Gitche Manitou has been seen as those cultures' analogue to the
Christian God
The "Huron Carol", found in our Presbyterian Hymnal, is a hymn written in 1643 by Jean de Brébeuf, a Jesuit missionary at Sainte-Marie among the Herons’ in Canada. Brébeuf wrote the lyrics in the native language of the Huron/Wendat people; the song's original Huron title is "Jesous Ahatonhia" ("Jesus, he is born"). The song's melody is based on a traditional French folk song, "Une Jeune Pucelle" ("A Young Maid"). The English lyrics were written in 1926 by Jesse Edgar Middleton.
The hymn uses imagery familiar to the Herons’ in place of the traditional Nativity story. Jesus is born in a "lodge of broken bark", and wrapped in a "robe of rabbit skin". He is surrounded by hunters instead of shepherds, and the Magi are portrayed as "chiefs from afar" that bring him "fox and beaver pelts" instead of the more familiar gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Just as Paul took an Athenian god to proclaim the Gospel, so the Jesuit missionaries took the Huron word for Great Spirit, and used it to show how God communicates with us through the Christ.
In the United States, the song was included as "Jesous Ahatonia" on Burl Ives's 1952 album Christmas Day in the Morning and was later released as a Burl Ives single under the title "Indian Christmas Carol."
God has given us a mission, if we are willing to accept it. I don't believe we are called to a narrowly "religious" enterprise, but to bear witness to the lord who calls us to carry glad tidings to a tired and hurting world; and to live out in our lives our understanding of the profound unity of the peoples of the earth and God's continuing creativity in the world.
Amen.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Treasure This LIfe
Luke 2:13-20 & 41-52
1st Sunday of Christmas
Elizabeth M. Deibert
A sleeping child in his mother’s arms is beautiful to behold. Ask any parent of young children. Sleeping children are the best. That’s when we treasure them most – when they are sound asleep. We go into their bedrooms and say, “Oh, aren’t they so precious.” We see sleeping babies in strollers and in their parents arms and we say, “Ah, sleeping like a baby.” And in their first months they sleep a good part of the day and the night.
We have this notion, propagated by the Christmas carols that Jesus always slept in heavenly peace, yet perhaps those words from Silent Night are as much about us as they are about the infant, Jesus. “Sleep in heavenly peace” We speak of sleeping like a baby, but isn’t that strange, because babies wake up in the night, sometimes multiple times. Yet somehow sleeping like a baby carries with the it the connotation that we have no worries to keep us awake or fearful. We have someone on whom to utterly depend. And that is what this infant of Christmas teaches us – we have someone on whom we can depend. We can sleep in heavenly peace knowing we have this treasure, this gift of the incarnation. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels – in clay jars.” John’s Gospel opens with “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
The treasure is this life – that God became flesh, became one of us. The treasure is that God and humanity are now united in a way that they were not before this happened.
The two scriptures we are reading today – one a lectionary passage for Christmas Day and the other, the text for this first Sunday of Christmas, end with Mary treasuring these things in her heart. In the first text she treasures and ponders the visit and the story of the shepherds and in the second, she and Joseph are upset at having temporarily lost their son, but then after finding Jesus in the temple, where he says they should have known he would be, Mary then treasures these things in her heart.
Hear now the word of the Lord from two passages in chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel.
Treasures of Christmas. Perhaps your greatest treasure at Christmas is not something under the Christmas tree, but some thoughts, some feelings, some collection of emories that you treasure. Maybe it is a faith that you treasure, despite the pain of your memories. The older, the more mature we become the more we know that it is not particular gifts that give us joy, but seeing other people happy on Christmas, bringing joy to others. Then we begin to glimpse the miracle of Christmas – God’s gift of a son, God’s very own presence with us in the person of Jesus.
Christ, lamb of God. Christ, visited by lowly shepherds, the first to arrive at the manger. They tell Mary and Joseph about their visit from the angels, and Mary is thinking, “Wow, that’s three visitations – an angel came to me, one came to Joseph, and now a multitude heavenly host to these unsuspecting shepherds.” Mary ponders what child is this? She treasures this gift of life, having no idea where his life is going, unless she truly comprehends the riches of all these messages from angels. Mary doesn’t yet know the end of the story of Jesus’ life, but we know.
Then there’s story about Jesus being brought to the temple as a baby for the rite of purification, and Simeon sings an amazing song, essentially saying that he can die now because he has seen the salvation of God for all the people. And Mary and Joseph are amazed. Then Anna comes and speaks about the child being the redeemer. And we learn that Jesus grows in strength, wisdom, and grace. That’s all we know of his childhood, until he is a tweenager, at the age of bar-mitzvah, at the age of self-differentiation.
Hear now the story of Jesus getting left behind in the temple.
In this lesson we experience Jesus as a burgeoning adolescent, growing in his understanding of whom he is. When his parents question him, he fires back, “Why were you searching. You should have known I would be in the temple, handling my father’s business.” There he establishes that he is Son of God, more than Son of Joseph.
Let's look a little closer. They, the family of Jesus, including other relatives were in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. It seemed to be a family custom. It is also what very pious people did in that day, if they lived close enough to attend he Passover. The family came, celebrated the feast and then they headed home.
The first question that comes to mind is why would Mary and Joseph leave home without knowing that Jesus was with them? It seems like a strange situation for us. But for them in their day and time, it wasn't. Women traveled more slowly than the men, so the women left Jerusalem first. The men followed later. They would catch up with each other at the place where they spent the night. So Joseph assumed Jesus was with Mary. Mary assumed Jesus was with Joseph. Neither suspected any problem until Joseph arrived and found out that Jesus was not with Mary.
I can only imagine how they must have felt when they realized that Jesus missing. Most parents’ anxiety would be high. They rushed back to Jerusalem to search for Jesus. They found Jesus after three days of searching, an allusion to his coming crucifixion and disappearance for three days. Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple learning and asking questions from the teachers. Evidently, Jesus was pretty good; Luke recorded that the teachers (the Rabbis) were amazed at his understanding and answers.
But the heart of this story comes during the dialogue that Jesus had with his mother, Mary. Mary and Joseph found Jesus and she said, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." Mary clearly felt what any parent would feel: first, great anxiety and fear, relief -when Jesus was found, then some anger - for what he had put them through.
Jesus answered, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House (…I must be about my Father's business)?
These words are significant words that Jesus spoke. First of all, these are the first ords that Jesus spoke in Luke's Gospel. He is already beginning to feel his mission to obey God. Jesus experienced a growing and compelling sense of call to go and do the will of God, the Father. Also, Jesus had a sense that he was the Son of God even before his baptism.
Perhaps this seems to be no big deal, but understand that in the other Gospels, there is absolutely nothing to indicate that Jesus had a sense of being the Messiah before he was baptized by John the Baptist. Our passage today is the only passage that gives us that idea. (Gratitude to The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min., 2nd Presbyterian, Petersburg, VA, for many of the ideas in the last several paragraphs.)
Finally, note how Jesus does this by discretely and carefully reframes what his mother said to him. Mary said, "your father and I," and she meant Joseph. Jesus' reply puts "father" into a divine context. "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House?" Jesus was at home.
And the story ends with Mary treasuring these things in her heart. We would do well to be like Mary and treasure these things in our hearts. As we move toward a new year, treasure the gifts of God, especially this gift of the incarnation, which changed the world.
1st Sunday of Christmas
Elizabeth M. Deibert
A sleeping child in his mother’s arms is beautiful to behold. Ask any parent of young children. Sleeping children are the best. That’s when we treasure them most – when they are sound asleep. We go into their bedrooms and say, “Oh, aren’t they so precious.” We see sleeping babies in strollers and in their parents arms and we say, “Ah, sleeping like a baby.” And in their first months they sleep a good part of the day and the night.
We have this notion, propagated by the Christmas carols that Jesus always slept in heavenly peace, yet perhaps those words from Silent Night are as much about us as they are about the infant, Jesus. “Sleep in heavenly peace” We speak of sleeping like a baby, but isn’t that strange, because babies wake up in the night, sometimes multiple times. Yet somehow sleeping like a baby carries with the it the connotation that we have no worries to keep us awake or fearful. We have someone on whom to utterly depend. And that is what this infant of Christmas teaches us – we have someone on whom we can depend. We can sleep in heavenly peace knowing we have this treasure, this gift of the incarnation. Paul says in 2 Corinthians, “We have this treasure in earthen vessels – in clay jars.” John’s Gospel opens with “The Word became flesh and dwelt among us.”
The treasure is this life – that God became flesh, became one of us. The treasure is that God and humanity are now united in a way that they were not before this happened.
The two scriptures we are reading today – one a lectionary passage for Christmas Day and the other, the text for this first Sunday of Christmas, end with Mary treasuring these things in her heart. In the first text she treasures and ponders the visit and the story of the shepherds and in the second, she and Joseph are upset at having temporarily lost their son, but then after finding Jesus in the temple, where he says they should have known he would be, Mary then treasures these things in her heart.
Hear now the word of the Lord from two passages in chapter 2 of Luke’s Gospel.
Treasures of Christmas. Perhaps your greatest treasure at Christmas is not something under the Christmas tree, but some thoughts, some feelings, some collection of emories that you treasure. Maybe it is a faith that you treasure, despite the pain of your memories. The older, the more mature we become the more we know that it is not particular gifts that give us joy, but seeing other people happy on Christmas, bringing joy to others. Then we begin to glimpse the miracle of Christmas – God’s gift of a son, God’s very own presence with us in the person of Jesus.
Christ, lamb of God. Christ, visited by lowly shepherds, the first to arrive at the manger. They tell Mary and Joseph about their visit from the angels, and Mary is thinking, “Wow, that’s three visitations – an angel came to me, one came to Joseph, and now a multitude heavenly host to these unsuspecting shepherds.” Mary ponders what child is this? She treasures this gift of life, having no idea where his life is going, unless she truly comprehends the riches of all these messages from angels. Mary doesn’t yet know the end of the story of Jesus’ life, but we know.
Then there’s story about Jesus being brought to the temple as a baby for the rite of purification, and Simeon sings an amazing song, essentially saying that he can die now because he has seen the salvation of God for all the people. And Mary and Joseph are amazed. Then Anna comes and speaks about the child being the redeemer. And we learn that Jesus grows in strength, wisdom, and grace. That’s all we know of his childhood, until he is a tweenager, at the age of bar-mitzvah, at the age of self-differentiation.
Hear now the story of Jesus getting left behind in the temple.
In this lesson we experience Jesus as a burgeoning adolescent, growing in his understanding of whom he is. When his parents question him, he fires back, “Why were you searching. You should have known I would be in the temple, handling my father’s business.” There he establishes that he is Son of God, more than Son of Joseph.
Let's look a little closer. They, the family of Jesus, including other relatives were in Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. It seemed to be a family custom. It is also what very pious people did in that day, if they lived close enough to attend he Passover. The family came, celebrated the feast and then they headed home.
The first question that comes to mind is why would Mary and Joseph leave home without knowing that Jesus was with them? It seems like a strange situation for us. But for them in their day and time, it wasn't. Women traveled more slowly than the men, so the women left Jerusalem first. The men followed later. They would catch up with each other at the place where they spent the night. So Joseph assumed Jesus was with Mary. Mary assumed Jesus was with Joseph. Neither suspected any problem until Joseph arrived and found out that Jesus was not with Mary.
I can only imagine how they must have felt when they realized that Jesus missing. Most parents’ anxiety would be high. They rushed back to Jerusalem to search for Jesus. They found Jesus after three days of searching, an allusion to his coming crucifixion and disappearance for three days. Joseph and Mary found Jesus in the temple learning and asking questions from the teachers. Evidently, Jesus was pretty good; Luke recorded that the teachers (the Rabbis) were amazed at his understanding and answers.
But the heart of this story comes during the dialogue that Jesus had with his mother, Mary. Mary and Joseph found Jesus and she said, "Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress." Mary clearly felt what any parent would feel: first, great anxiety and fear, relief -when Jesus was found, then some anger - for what he had put them through.
Jesus answered, "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House (…I must be about my Father's business)?
These words are significant words that Jesus spoke. First of all, these are the first ords that Jesus spoke in Luke's Gospel. He is already beginning to feel his mission to obey God. Jesus experienced a growing and compelling sense of call to go and do the will of God, the Father. Also, Jesus had a sense that he was the Son of God even before his baptism.
Perhaps this seems to be no big deal, but understand that in the other Gospels, there is absolutely nothing to indicate that Jesus had a sense of being the Messiah before he was baptized by John the Baptist. Our passage today is the only passage that gives us that idea. (Gratitude to The Rev. Daniel E. Hale, D. Min., 2nd Presbyterian, Petersburg, VA, for many of the ideas in the last several paragraphs.)
Finally, note how Jesus does this by discretely and carefully reframes what his mother said to him. Mary said, "your father and I," and she meant Joseph. Jesus' reply puts "father" into a divine context. "Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father's House?" Jesus was at home.
And the story ends with Mary treasuring these things in her heart. We would do well to be like Mary and treasure these things in our hearts. As we move toward a new year, treasure the gifts of God, especially this gift of the incarnation, which changed the world.
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Receive the Fullness
Luke 1:26-38
4th Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Today we read the story of Mary, the one who received the gift of God in all fullness. We talk about receiving gifts, but all hail to Mary. She received the best gift of all. She caught in her very own womb, God’s miraculous fullness to transform all of creation. She was chosen to be the mother of God with us, Immanuel. Let us pray: Ave Maria.... Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
For some of us that prayer is as deeply inbedded in our souls as the Lord’s prayer. For others of us, who were taught to define ourselves in reaction to the Roman Catholic Church, it is not be a comfortable prayer, though the music of Ave Maria is part of our repertoire. I want to begin today by telling you why this prayer is meaningful to me. To me Mary is the greatest example of human faithfulness. She represents the person I could become, were I to be as receptive to God’s will as she was. Jesus was fully human, fully divine. I cannot relate to being fully divine, even though through the power of the Spirit I grow in Christ-likeness. But I find it easier to relate to Mary, who fulfilled her calling by being receptive to God in her body, mind, and soul. Receptive to God in body, mind, and soul.
Protestants often resist praying the Hail Mary prayer because we have been taught not to worship or pray to Mary. But I think Protestants might grow in respect for Mary by attending to this prayer, as it relates to our scripture today. The first part of the prayer is the greeting of the angel. “Greetings, favored one is the same as Hail, Mary, full of grace, or graced one.” Then the second part of the prayer is Elizabeth’s greeting, mother of John the Baptist, who says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That visit of Mary and Elizabeth is not part of our scripture today. But it is the third part which makes some protestants stumble. “Pray for us” Yet I invite you to notice that we’re not praying to Mary, but asking for her prayers, in the same way we might ask for anyone to pray for us. Of course, Mary is not just anyone. She is the consummate saint in heaven, the Queen of all the saints. So if you believe in the communion of saints, then perhaps you are okay with asking for Mary’s intercession. Do you converse with family members who have died before you. I do.
Hear the prayer again in different words, Greetings Mary, favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Having prayed with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, now let us pray with our Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers: God-bearing Virgin, rejoice! Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have born the Savior of our souls.
Now hear the scripture:
NRS Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The visit from Gabriel is a surprise to Mary, naturally. Few of us have such supernatural experiences.
I want to tell of one which I had on All Saints Day in Greece less than two months ago. Emily and I were asleep in a hostel. Though exhausted from our travels, I was sleeping poorly, knowing I had to walk four blocks to the bus station at 4:00 am to get to the airport. I can’t bring myself to pay over $50 for a taxi ride when I can take the bus for three dollars. So while I’m trying to sleep, another hostel resident comes to our door and repeatedly tries to open our door, obviously confused about the room number. But every time he or she tries to unlock my door, fear rises up in me and I imagine having to confront someone drunk or worse, someone determined to do us harm. Finally the person gets to the right door and leaves us alone, but I’m lying there afraid to walk to the bus station. At last I doze off and in my dream Barbara Deibert, Richard’s mom has come to visit the family as an angel. Barbara died in the summer of 2006. When I wake up I am confident that she is present in the room, and that she will walk with me to the bus station, as my guardian angel. It was a powerful experience. Tears ran down my face as I rode the bus to the airport.
I have had one other significant angelic-type experience like that when my dad, after he died, and I resolved a deeply emotional issue in a dream. I needed for my own peace of mind to forgive my dad and that forgiveness got resolved in a dream. You can separate reality from dream if you want, but for me they are connected.
Now, let’s be clear, the text does not say that the angel came to Mary in a dream. It says that about the angel and Joseph in Matthew, but we don’t know whether Mary’s visit was in the day or the night. But the scripture tells us the angel greets her as the one full of grace, and says to her what we say to each other every week as we come to the Sacrament. “The Lord be with you. The Lord is with you.” The angel explains that Mary has been chosen by God and encourages her not to be afraid. And the angel informs her that she will have a son, who will be great, who will be Son of the Most High.
Mary asked the question that generations after her have asked. “How can this be?” Our modern minds bent toward scientific proofs want to know even more than people in Biblical times, “How can this be?” Tell me how. We try to tame the miracle. We want to be able to wrap our minds around it. Make it more believable, more real. But maybe it’s more real, when you relish the miracle like I relished the presence of Barbara Deibert on the sidewalk of Athens at 4:00 am. I challenge you this Christmas to take on the faith of little children and cling to the miracle. Enjoy it. Celebrate it. Live into a second naivete’ and dare to believe the truth which cannot be proven, but which will change your life when you are open and receptive like Mary.
I like believing that the Holy Spirit can do things that seem impossible to us. Does that make me a fundamentalist? No? But it means my view of Christ is higher than my view of my own ability to process information. I cannot explain higher math, so why should I be able to explain how Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit?
I affirm by faith, though not by logical reason, that the child conceived in Mary was truly divine. If not conceived by the Holy Spirit, then Jesus was just a great human being, a marvelous teacher, a prophet. He was all those things but more. He was Immanuel – God with us in person. He was set apart from the very beginning. I believe this Incarnation – this God becoming human flesh – was a holy and mysterious event, brought about by divine grace surpassing human possibilities. (This language borrowed from The Study Catechism) If he’s not fully divine, then he is not deserving of our worship. If he’s not fully human, then we have not been fully saved. As Irenaeus, the 2nd century church leader, whose name means “peace” said, “That which has not been assumed, cannot be healed.”
I’m grateful that Jesus had a wonderful step-dad in Joseph but I have no trouble claiming that his real father was God. And that whatever happened to Mary was different and more glorious than what happened to me four times, or we could say five. And of course, we all know anyone’s child-bearing, is a miracle beyond our explanation – how babies in the short period of nine months become the perfect and beautiful individuals they are with genes from two people mixed into this unique DNA combination. And how even adopted children develop deeply held attitudes and mannerisms picked up unconsciously from their loving parents who nurtured them.
But miraculous as regular child-bearing and child-rearing is, it is not the same as giving birth to God with us, the Lord of heaven born on earth. But what the Church has seen in Mary for two thousand years is a human being ready to receive the fullness of God, willing to receive the fullness of God, unafraid to receive the fullness of God, the fullness of God, the fullness of God. Mary is our greatest role model, as she was the very first person to accept, to receive Jesus Christ into her life unreservedly.
I pray to become more like Mary, willing to say to the outrageous claim of an angel of the Lord, “Let it be with me according to your word.” In other words, in common vernacular, “Okay, Gabriel, what you’ve just told me makes no common sense but do with me what you want. I am open and receptive.” Wow, what if we said that too! What might happen, if we really received Christ like that? O Little Town of Bethlehem, which we will sing in a moment, has this wonderful line: Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in. We are told Mary was likely a peasant girl, not very old, not at all prestigious, until by her faithful openness to receive the fullness of God, she became known and loved around the world as Mother of our Lord. May we discover the meekness of a childlike and receptive faith this Christmas.
The other wonderful line from O Little Town of Bethlehem will be our prayer –
O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.
4th Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
Today we read the story of Mary, the one who received the gift of God in all fullness. We talk about receiving gifts, but all hail to Mary. She received the best gift of all. She caught in her very own womb, God’s miraculous fullness to transform all of creation. She was chosen to be the mother of God with us, Immanuel. Let us pray: Ave Maria.... Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
For some of us that prayer is as deeply inbedded in our souls as the Lord’s prayer. For others of us, who were taught to define ourselves in reaction to the Roman Catholic Church, it is not be a comfortable prayer, though the music of Ave Maria is part of our repertoire. I want to begin today by telling you why this prayer is meaningful to me. To me Mary is the greatest example of human faithfulness. She represents the person I could become, were I to be as receptive to God’s will as she was. Jesus was fully human, fully divine. I cannot relate to being fully divine, even though through the power of the Spirit I grow in Christ-likeness. But I find it easier to relate to Mary, who fulfilled her calling by being receptive to God in her body, mind, and soul. Receptive to God in body, mind, and soul.
Protestants often resist praying the Hail Mary prayer because we have been taught not to worship or pray to Mary. But I think Protestants might grow in respect for Mary by attending to this prayer, as it relates to our scripture today. The first part of the prayer is the greeting of the angel. “Greetings, favored one is the same as Hail, Mary, full of grace, or graced one.” Then the second part of the prayer is Elizabeth’s greeting, mother of John the Baptist, who says, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb.” That visit of Mary and Elizabeth is not part of our scripture today. But it is the third part which makes some protestants stumble. “Pray for us” Yet I invite you to notice that we’re not praying to Mary, but asking for her prayers, in the same way we might ask for anyone to pray for us. Of course, Mary is not just anyone. She is the consummate saint in heaven, the Queen of all the saints. So if you believe in the communion of saints, then perhaps you are okay with asking for Mary’s intercession. Do you converse with family members who have died before you. I do.
Hear the prayer again in different words, Greetings Mary, favored one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Having prayed with our Roman Catholic brothers and sisters, now let us pray with our Eastern Orthodox sisters and brothers: God-bearing Virgin, rejoice! Mary full of grace, the Lord is with you. Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb, for you have born the Savior of our souls.
Now hear the scripture:
NRS Luke 1:26 In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called Nazareth, 27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David. The virgin's name was Mary. 28 And he came to her and said, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." 29 But she was much perplexed by his words and pondered what sort of greeting this might be. 30 The angel said to her, "Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. 31 And now, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you will name him Jesus. 32 He will be great, and will be called the Son of the Most High, and the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David. 33 He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end." 34 Mary said to the angel, "How can this be, since I am a virgin?" 35 The angel said to her, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be holy; he will be called Son of God. 36 And now, your relative Elizabeth in her old age has also conceived a son; and this is the sixth month for her who was said to be barren. 37 For nothing will be impossible with God." 38 Then Mary said, "Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word." Then the angel departed from her.
The visit from Gabriel is a surprise to Mary, naturally. Few of us have such supernatural experiences.
I want to tell of one which I had on All Saints Day in Greece less than two months ago. Emily and I were asleep in a hostel. Though exhausted from our travels, I was sleeping poorly, knowing I had to walk four blocks to the bus station at 4:00 am to get to the airport. I can’t bring myself to pay over $50 for a taxi ride when I can take the bus for three dollars. So while I’m trying to sleep, another hostel resident comes to our door and repeatedly tries to open our door, obviously confused about the room number. But every time he or she tries to unlock my door, fear rises up in me and I imagine having to confront someone drunk or worse, someone determined to do us harm. Finally the person gets to the right door and leaves us alone, but I’m lying there afraid to walk to the bus station. At last I doze off and in my dream Barbara Deibert, Richard’s mom has come to visit the family as an angel. Barbara died in the summer of 2006. When I wake up I am confident that she is present in the room, and that she will walk with me to the bus station, as my guardian angel. It was a powerful experience. Tears ran down my face as I rode the bus to the airport.
I have had one other significant angelic-type experience like that when my dad, after he died, and I resolved a deeply emotional issue in a dream. I needed for my own peace of mind to forgive my dad and that forgiveness got resolved in a dream. You can separate reality from dream if you want, but for me they are connected.
Now, let’s be clear, the text does not say that the angel came to Mary in a dream. It says that about the angel and Joseph in Matthew, but we don’t know whether Mary’s visit was in the day or the night. But the scripture tells us the angel greets her as the one full of grace, and says to her what we say to each other every week as we come to the Sacrament. “The Lord be with you. The Lord is with you.” The angel explains that Mary has been chosen by God and encourages her not to be afraid. And the angel informs her that she will have a son, who will be great, who will be Son of the Most High.
Mary asked the question that generations after her have asked. “How can this be?” Our modern minds bent toward scientific proofs want to know even more than people in Biblical times, “How can this be?” Tell me how. We try to tame the miracle. We want to be able to wrap our minds around it. Make it more believable, more real. But maybe it’s more real, when you relish the miracle like I relished the presence of Barbara Deibert on the sidewalk of Athens at 4:00 am. I challenge you this Christmas to take on the faith of little children and cling to the miracle. Enjoy it. Celebrate it. Live into a second naivete’ and dare to believe the truth which cannot be proven, but which will change your life when you are open and receptive like Mary.
I like believing that the Holy Spirit can do things that seem impossible to us. Does that make me a fundamentalist? No? But it means my view of Christ is higher than my view of my own ability to process information. I cannot explain higher math, so why should I be able to explain how Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit?
I affirm by faith, though not by logical reason, that the child conceived in Mary was truly divine. If not conceived by the Holy Spirit, then Jesus was just a great human being, a marvelous teacher, a prophet. He was all those things but more. He was Immanuel – God with us in person. He was set apart from the very beginning. I believe this Incarnation – this God becoming human flesh – was a holy and mysterious event, brought about by divine grace surpassing human possibilities. (This language borrowed from The Study Catechism) If he’s not fully divine, then he is not deserving of our worship. If he’s not fully human, then we have not been fully saved. As Irenaeus, the 2nd century church leader, whose name means “peace” said, “That which has not been assumed, cannot be healed.”
I’m grateful that Jesus had a wonderful step-dad in Joseph but I have no trouble claiming that his real father was God. And that whatever happened to Mary was different and more glorious than what happened to me four times, or we could say five. And of course, we all know anyone’s child-bearing, is a miracle beyond our explanation – how babies in the short period of nine months become the perfect and beautiful individuals they are with genes from two people mixed into this unique DNA combination. And how even adopted children develop deeply held attitudes and mannerisms picked up unconsciously from their loving parents who nurtured them.
But miraculous as regular child-bearing and child-rearing is, it is not the same as giving birth to God with us, the Lord of heaven born on earth. But what the Church has seen in Mary for two thousand years is a human being ready to receive the fullness of God, willing to receive the fullness of God, unafraid to receive the fullness of God, the fullness of God, the fullness of God. Mary is our greatest role model, as she was the very first person to accept, to receive Jesus Christ into her life unreservedly.
I pray to become more like Mary, willing to say to the outrageous claim of an angel of the Lord, “Let it be with me according to your word.” In other words, in common vernacular, “Okay, Gabriel, what you’ve just told me makes no common sense but do with me what you want. I am open and receptive.” Wow, what if we said that too! What might happen, if we really received Christ like that? O Little Town of Bethlehem, which we will sing in a moment, has this wonderful line: Where meek souls will receive him still, the dear Christ enters in. We are told Mary was likely a peasant girl, not very old, not at all prestigious, until by her faithful openness to receive the fullness of God, she became known and loved around the world as Mother of our Lord. May we discover the meekness of a childlike and receptive faith this Christmas.
The other wonderful line from O Little Town of Bethlehem will be our prayer –
O holy child of Bethlehem descend to us we pray. Cast out our sin and enter in. Be born in us today.
Sunday, December 13, 2009
Rejoice in the Love
Zephaniah 3:14-20 & Phil. 4:4-9
3rd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
NRS Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
After last Sunday’s call to repentance, you might be glad to know that on this 3rd Sunday of Advent, we move to the more cheerful theme of rejoicing. Joy, joy, joy. We’d rather be rejoicing than repenting. But when you hear about the context of Paul, writing to the Philippians from prison, saying “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, “Rejoice!” then you know that this rejoicing is deeper than having a “Holly, jolly Christmas”. Sometimes the fa, la, las of the season get on my nerves. The tunes are fun, but the more Christmas gets associated with chestnuts and bows of holly and silver bells and frosty snowmen and red-nosed reindeer, then we are promoting a carefree and shallow notion of Christmas cheer,not real Advent joy that can stand up against the harshest realities.
We need a joy that can be sustained in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We need a joy that can lift our spirits when death is knocking at our door and we can’t keep it way off in the yard any more, a joy that supports us when we’re still grieving this time of year for those who have gone before us. We need a joy that can build us up when we suffer through divorce or depression or aging or school troubles or the parent problems. (Parent problems go both ways you know – trouble as parents or trouble with parents.) We need a joy that can inspire us to give generously to those who have lost hope, or are hungry, or have no where to turn, as we at Peace are trying to do, but never do enough.
Rejoicing after repenting, and that’s what we do every Sunday when we confess our sins, then remember our baptism into the arms of God’s love and then greet one another with the peace of Christ. That a moment of rejoicing in God’s goodness – such that no matter what we’ve done, no matter what someone has done to us, there is joy and forgiveness and love for all.
The first time I heard Philippians 4 discussed in a college Bible study, I remember appreciating the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is be cheerful and glad when all is going well. Joy is being content and glad whether things are going well or not. Instead of “Don’t worry. Be happy” the message for today is rejoice in God’s love. Put worry and sadness and frustration and fear in perspective. If Paul can say from prison “Rejoice” or “count it all joy” or some other use of the word joy 14 times in this short letter, then we can reach a little deeper ourselves. You cannot muster happiness, but you can muster joy through the disciplines of the faith – through worship, prayer, and Bible study, through putting others first and living according to Christ’s example, yes, you can find joy, even if you are never happy.
Old Testament prophets like Zephaniah, who lived through a difficult season of Israel’s life in the 7th century BC, help us to discover a spirit of joy despite the agonies of a God-forsaken existence. When you hear the mournful Zephaniah who is so depressed over the way his people are living, so discouraged under the leadership of evil King Manasseh, say “Rejoice and be glad!” then you know that rejoicing comes as a great nevertheless to the suffering and evils of the world. That’s what theologian Karl Barth said of Paul’s rejoicing from prison – that it was a defiant nevertheless. Nevertheless I will rejoice and be thankful.
Zephaniah’s people are under the oppressive thumb of the Assyrians and this is before the great spiritual reforms of the good King Josiah. And Zephaniah does not mince words in the opening of his book. In chapter one he announced that their flesh is dung and there will be a terrible end to all of creation. Yet this same prophet ends his writing with words of hope and rejoicing. Perhaps the circumstances had actually changed by the time or perhaps he could tell that times were changing when these verses from chapter 3 were added, but all the same, these words of hope and rejoicing come to us in the literary context of despair and destruction. Zephaniah invites us to revere God and turn to God’s ways, to trust in God as protector and savior, to love God, knowing that God is delighting in us, and to imagine a better world, one in which God is reigning and renewing us in love.
Hear the word of the Lord from Zephaniah: NLT Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Isreal! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. 16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, "Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! 17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." 18 "I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. 19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones;I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. 20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
God's people learn to rejoice in God's presence, even or especially when there seemed little visible evidence to support it. Think of Mary waiting for the birth of Jesus, dealing with some anxiety about people’s perceptions yet singing about her hope: "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Or consider Paul and Silas during their first visit to Philippi. When they were thrown into prison they sang hymns of praise at midnight, "and the prisoners were listening to them" and their chains fell off. (Acts 16:25) (Christian Century, Nov 23, 1994, William Dyrness) There is freedom in being able to rejoice in the middle of difficult circumstances. To cling tenaciously to hope in God while everything around you tells you there is no hope.
Those who have joy more than happiness know that life is painful. They are not in denial about their own and others’ pain, but they are not imprisoned in despair. They understand that they have a challenging but rewarding role to play in keeping the faith and living joyfully despite difficulties.
This passage captures the tension between the hope and the conviction we hold in God’s future, and the radical change and re-shaping of our world that is required for this foreseen future to become a present reality. There is great hope in a vision of a future restoration, but all of the difficulty and pain associated with his sort of change remains in view.” (Howard Wallace, Uniting Church, Australia)
It was hopeful on Friday to hear a repentant Tiger Woods say that he needs to take a break from golf to work on healing the hurt he has caused his wife and family, not to mention the disappointment of his friends and fans. This is something to rejoice in – his repentance, but not something to be happy about. There is no happiness in Tiger and his wife trying to work out the problems caused by his multiple infidelities. There is a lot of difficulty and pain ahead, yet there can be some joy in Tiger’s decision to try to do what is right and necessary, if there is any hope of healing.
So, my friends, we end up in the same place as last week, with the tension of knowing we have a God who is coming to make things right, who is calling us to live as Christ lived, which is quite different from the way we live now. God condemns the sin of our lives, challenges us to repent, and then takes the judgment away. God is delighting in us, while also wanting more from us. God is renewing us in God’s boundless love, rejoicing in us, changing our shame into praise.
We are accustomed to images of God as judge. We are accustomed to images of God as shepherd, gathering the flock into the fold. But how often do we imagine God as one who rejoices? One who sings? Yet here, in our text, God and God's people alike are caught up in a joy that overflows into song, a joy that springs from love renewed, from a relationship restored.
This joy is not one-sided. It is not simply we, God's people ,who rejoice because God has forgiven and restored us. It is not simply God's people who rejoice. God,too, sings and shouts with joy over this love restored. The divine heart overflows with jubilation!
This image of God bears no resemblance to Aristotle's "unmoved mover," Many people today think that some higher being set the world in motion and lets it go. No, this God is moved by human attitudes and actions. This God does not watch from a distance, but enters into the life of the world. This God enters even into human flesh, in the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation.
This Sunday, we rejoice in the love, even if our lives are in a minor key. We sing with the joy of a people redeemed and restored, but also with the joy of a God who is deeply invested in the life of the world. God sings. God shouts. God rejoices. Emmanuel comes to us and renews us in love “REJOICE, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to Thee, O Israel.”
(Ideas in last four paragraphs re-worked from Kathryn Schifferdecker, workingpreacher.org)
3rd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
NRS Philippians 4:4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice. 5 Let your gentleness be known to everyone. The Lord is near. 6 Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 Keep on doing the things that you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, and the God of peace will be with you.
After last Sunday’s call to repentance, you might be glad to know that on this 3rd Sunday of Advent, we move to the more cheerful theme of rejoicing. Joy, joy, joy. We’d rather be rejoicing than repenting. But when you hear about the context of Paul, writing to the Philippians from prison, saying “Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I say, “Rejoice!” then you know that this rejoicing is deeper than having a “Holly, jolly Christmas”. Sometimes the fa, la, las of the season get on my nerves. The tunes are fun, but the more Christmas gets associated with chestnuts and bows of holly and silver bells and frosty snowmen and red-nosed reindeer, then we are promoting a carefree and shallow notion of Christmas cheer,not real Advent joy that can stand up against the harshest realities.
We need a joy that can be sustained in the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression. We need a joy that can lift our spirits when death is knocking at our door and we can’t keep it way off in the yard any more, a joy that supports us when we’re still grieving this time of year for those who have gone before us. We need a joy that can build us up when we suffer through divorce or depression or aging or school troubles or the parent problems. (Parent problems go both ways you know – trouble as parents or trouble with parents.) We need a joy that can inspire us to give generously to those who have lost hope, or are hungry, or have no where to turn, as we at Peace are trying to do, but never do enough.
Rejoicing after repenting, and that’s what we do every Sunday when we confess our sins, then remember our baptism into the arms of God’s love and then greet one another with the peace of Christ. That a moment of rejoicing in God’s goodness – such that no matter what we’ve done, no matter what someone has done to us, there is joy and forgiveness and love for all.
The first time I heard Philippians 4 discussed in a college Bible study, I remember appreciating the difference between happiness and joy. Happiness is be cheerful and glad when all is going well. Joy is being content and glad whether things are going well or not. Instead of “Don’t worry. Be happy” the message for today is rejoice in God’s love. Put worry and sadness and frustration and fear in perspective. If Paul can say from prison “Rejoice” or “count it all joy” or some other use of the word joy 14 times in this short letter, then we can reach a little deeper ourselves. You cannot muster happiness, but you can muster joy through the disciplines of the faith – through worship, prayer, and Bible study, through putting others first and living according to Christ’s example, yes, you can find joy, even if you are never happy.
Old Testament prophets like Zephaniah, who lived through a difficult season of Israel’s life in the 7th century BC, help us to discover a spirit of joy despite the agonies of a God-forsaken existence. When you hear the mournful Zephaniah who is so depressed over the way his people are living, so discouraged under the leadership of evil King Manasseh, say “Rejoice and be glad!” then you know that rejoicing comes as a great nevertheless to the suffering and evils of the world. That’s what theologian Karl Barth said of Paul’s rejoicing from prison – that it was a defiant nevertheless. Nevertheless I will rejoice and be thankful.
Zephaniah’s people are under the oppressive thumb of the Assyrians and this is before the great spiritual reforms of the good King Josiah. And Zephaniah does not mince words in the opening of his book. In chapter one he announced that their flesh is dung and there will be a terrible end to all of creation. Yet this same prophet ends his writing with words of hope and rejoicing. Perhaps the circumstances had actually changed by the time or perhaps he could tell that times were changing when these verses from chapter 3 were added, but all the same, these words of hope and rejoicing come to us in the literary context of despair and destruction. Zephaniah invites us to revere God and turn to God’s ways, to trust in God as protector and savior, to love God, knowing that God is delighting in us, and to imagine a better world, one in which God is reigning and renewing us in love.
Hear the word of the Lord from Zephaniah: NLT Zephaniah 3:14 Sing, O daughter of Zion; shout aloud, O Isreal! Be glad and rejoice with all your heart, O daughter of Jerusalem. 15 For the LORD will remove his hand of judgment and will disperse the armies of your enemy. And the LORD himself, the King of Israel, will live among you! At last your troubles will be over, and you will never again fear disaster. 16 On that day the announcement to Jerusalem will be, "Cheer up, Zion! Don't be afraid! 17 For the LORD your God is living among you. He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With his love, he will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs." 18 "I will gather you who mourn for the appointed festivals; you will be disgraced no more. 19 And I will deal severely with all who have oppressed you. I will save the weak and helpless ones;I will bring together those who were chased away. I will give glory and fame to my former exiles, wherever they have been mocked and shamed. 20 On that day I will gather you together and bring you home again. I will give you a good name, a name of distinction, among all the nations of the earth, as I restore your fortunes before their very eyes. I, the LORD, have spoken!"
God's people learn to rejoice in God's presence, even or especially when there seemed little visible evidence to support it. Think of Mary waiting for the birth of Jesus, dealing with some anxiety about people’s perceptions yet singing about her hope: "My spirit rejoices in God my Savior." Or consider Paul and Silas during their first visit to Philippi. When they were thrown into prison they sang hymns of praise at midnight, "and the prisoners were listening to them" and their chains fell off. (Acts 16:25) (Christian Century, Nov 23, 1994, William Dyrness) There is freedom in being able to rejoice in the middle of difficult circumstances. To cling tenaciously to hope in God while everything around you tells you there is no hope.
Those who have joy more than happiness know that life is painful. They are not in denial about their own and others’ pain, but they are not imprisoned in despair. They understand that they have a challenging but rewarding role to play in keeping the faith and living joyfully despite difficulties.
This passage captures the tension between the hope and the conviction we hold in God’s future, and the radical change and re-shaping of our world that is required for this foreseen future to become a present reality. There is great hope in a vision of a future restoration, but all of the difficulty and pain associated with his sort of change remains in view.” (Howard Wallace, Uniting Church, Australia)
It was hopeful on Friday to hear a repentant Tiger Woods say that he needs to take a break from golf to work on healing the hurt he has caused his wife and family, not to mention the disappointment of his friends and fans. This is something to rejoice in – his repentance, but not something to be happy about. There is no happiness in Tiger and his wife trying to work out the problems caused by his multiple infidelities. There is a lot of difficulty and pain ahead, yet there can be some joy in Tiger’s decision to try to do what is right and necessary, if there is any hope of healing.
So, my friends, we end up in the same place as last week, with the tension of knowing we have a God who is coming to make things right, who is calling us to live as Christ lived, which is quite different from the way we live now. God condemns the sin of our lives, challenges us to repent, and then takes the judgment away. God is delighting in us, while also wanting more from us. God is renewing us in God’s boundless love, rejoicing in us, changing our shame into praise.
We are accustomed to images of God as judge. We are accustomed to images of God as shepherd, gathering the flock into the fold. But how often do we imagine God as one who rejoices? One who sings? Yet here, in our text, God and God's people alike are caught up in a joy that overflows into song, a joy that springs from love renewed, from a relationship restored.
This joy is not one-sided. It is not simply we, God's people ,who rejoice because God has forgiven and restored us. It is not simply God's people who rejoice. God,too, sings and shouts with joy over this love restored. The divine heart overflows with jubilation!
This image of God bears no resemblance to Aristotle's "unmoved mover," Many people today think that some higher being set the world in motion and lets it go. No, this God is moved by human attitudes and actions. This God does not watch from a distance, but enters into the life of the world. This God enters even into human flesh, in the mystery and wonder of the Incarnation.
This Sunday, we rejoice in the love, even if our lives are in a minor key. We sing with the joy of a people redeemed and restored, but also with the joy of a God who is deeply invested in the life of the world. God sings. God shouts. God rejoices. Emmanuel comes to us and renews us in love “REJOICE, rejoice. Emmanuel shall come to Thee, O Israel.”
(Ideas in last four paragraphs re-worked from Kathryn Schifferdecker, workingpreacher.org)
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Prepare the Way
Luke 3:1-6
2nd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
We learned this week that Richard’s dad and brother might bring his aunt and uncle for Christmas. They don’t have grandchildren yet, so they enjoy the energy of our family. We’d enjoy having them. Richard is concerned about whether they can climb the stairs. I’m concerned that the carpet upstairs desperately needs cleaning. Preparations for Christmas. Opportunity to focus on what’s important – welcoming people. Or not.
Richard and I got into a money argument Friday morning because I’m worried about what we should get the kids – keeping things in balance, and I interpreted his response to my anxiety about this as an unwillingness to engage the subject of finances when really, he just thought this wasn’t the right time for the conversation because I said I had a sermon to write. He’s keeping everything in separate box in his brain, while all the things in my brain have connections to all the other things. Christmas preparations. Opportunity to focus on what’s valuable – good, loving, respectful communication. Or not.
At the Festive Friday party we hosted for families of children and youth, we had a conversation about when everyone puts up decorations. Some get it up on Thanksgiving week-end in time for the first Sunday of Advent. They are done with it by December
26th or at least by the new year. Others of us wait until close to Christmas, then leave up until the 12 day of Christmas – Epiphany, the 6th of January. Preparations for Christmas, the season. Opportunities to focus on the reason for the season – or not.
Our scripture today is concerned with a different kind of preparation. We might call these advent preparations. John the Baptist talks about preparing the way, making a path for our God. He’s preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Repentance? How does that fit into this season of decking the halls and trying to be jolly? Repentance is the heart of our Christmas Preparations. That is how we prepare the way.
Hear the word of the Lord from Luke 3.
NRS Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
We prepare the way by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme these days. We could blame that on the fundamentalist and right wing preachers, who made a mockery of it by shouting from street corners and revival tents and bully pulpits, while having too much hypocrisy in their own lives to make their calls to holiness seem authentic. The right wing preacher would focus our attention on the crookedness of our lives.
We prepare the way for Christmas by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme. We could blame that on secular humanists and left wing Christians, who invite us to make fun of a faith focused on repentance, who encourage us to think good thoughts about ourselves, to build up self-esteem, and believe in a God who always accepts all people just as they are without condition or reserve. The left wing preacher would focus our attention on the last verse – the promise that all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
Both polarized groups are missing something – both have cheapened our view of the Christian life and tried to put God in a box for safe keeping. We need to stop choosing sides and realize that both messages are needed. Repentance and forgiveness. Never one without the other. Our reading from Malachi mentions the “refining fire” Fire burns. Fire melts and molds. There is a harshness to fire, but a glorious purpose in the shaping of a godly character. Think of the way fire clear away the brush so the forest is healthier.
We have need of God’s refining fire. We have need of a healthy fear of the Lord’s judgment. We have become far too cozy with God, as if the Lord of heaven and earth is our good buddy with whom we can laugh about sin, ‘cause it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is grace. What a friend we have in Jesus. Yes, but we are not equals. He lived without sin. We live full of sin. Thank God, our Lord is merciful enough to keep us from seeing the full ugliness of our own hearts.
John the Baptist is the forerunner paving the way for Christ’s first sermon which begins “Repent and believe the good news.” John says “repent” and goes on to call his gathered congregation a “brood of vipers.” He challenges them to bear fruits worthy of repentance or be thrown into the fire. When they ask what he means by this repentance, he says, “Whoever has two coats, share with someone who has none. Whoever has food, do likewise.” Repent doesn’t mean sitting around feeling bad about my seven coats in the closet. It doesn’t mean that I should ask for forgiveness with no intention of changing. It means doing something different. Making a change.
To those who had the power of money matters, tax collectors, John said, “Collect no more money than the amount prescribed.” Be fairer than other tax collectors.
To soldiers he said, “Do not threaten people or make false accusations or take what doesn’t belong to you. Be satisfied with what you have.”
To the all crowd, John said of Jesus, I am not worthy to untie his sandals. There’s the measure of humility that we need. If we recognize that we are completely unworthy, fully needy of God’s forgiveness because of our continual sin and blindness of heart, if we can truly repent, which means turning away from the sin we acknowledge, then we are beginning to prepare the way of the Lord.
To prepare the way of the Lord is to stop comparing ourselves with other people, allowing ourselves an opportunity for self-righteousness. That’s why we find it hard to stop watching the slime about other people, people like Tiger Woods, people in high places who fall from grace, because it reinforces our thinking that we’re pretty good folk. We haven’t done anything that bad. We’re nice people.
But the comparison we need to make is of ourselves with a holy God, not ourselves with others. We need to compare ourselves with the people God intended us to be. Ourselves with Jesus Christ. Then we see how far short we fall. It’s not about condemnation of others. It’s not about wallowing in guilt and bad feelings about ourselves. There is no repentance in that – only continued sin and sickness. God wants us well and whole, and we take part in the healing process by cooperating with the treatment plan and taking the medicine. The medicine is repentance, acknowledgment of fault and turning from it. The treatment plan is forgiveness, followed by a renewed commitment to holiness, which requires daily repentance. Forgiveness without continuing repentance and desire for holiness does not cure our adness, our sinful condition. We need comfort of God’s promises, but also the challenge of God’s holy claim on our lives.
Repentance – a daily pattern of turning away from all which is not pleasing to God. Daily awareness of the depth of God’s forgiveness comes by seeing also the depth of our sin. Repentance – making way, preparing for Christ to be born anew in our hearts – is the challenge of this season. Hear these words from The Illumined Heart by Frederica Mathewes-Green: “The ancient Christian literature on repentance is beautiful – full of simplicity, humility, and spreading peace. There is nothing in it of masochism or despair. Those who know themselves to be so greatly forgiven are far from gloomy, but are flooded with joy and deep tranquility. Those who are forgiven much love much. They find it hard to hold grudges against others; they find it hard to hold any thing in this life very tightly. For the Christian, two things seem to be ever linked: sorrow over sin, and gratitude for forgiveness. Repentance is the source of life and joy.” (p. 42)
So we can spend all our time preparing for the cultural traditions of Christmas–holiday lights, presents for one another, food and seasonal gathering. One can stay quite busy with all of that.
But stop to think about Jill and Mark, who left this morning to attend the funeral of their close friend Gary, forty-something, who died, leaving a seven year old and a wife. Think about the family of Tricia’s friends, the Knauert family, four kids and a wife moving through a first Christmas without dad and husband. Think about all the people in the world who are hungrier this Christmas than last Christmas. Do our holiday lights, presents, and sugar cookies do much for that grief? Those Christmas preparations would be like trying puts band-aids on a severed leg.
That’s why it is imperative that we prepare for advent. Prepare our hearts more than our houses. Pray, work on our relationships, give generously, read scripture, listen to music which inspires our faith, think about how we can make a difference. Prepare the way of the Lord by a renewed desire to repent. Repentance is not so much emotion but is renewal of the mind, a rethinking of motives and actions, a willingness to admit sin, and then to work at living according to the will of God. It is attitude. Sorrow for sin. Gratitude for forgiveness. The best gift you can give anyone this year is your own spirit of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
Lord, we are part of a generation that wants to dismiss the gravity of sin, to deny our own short-comings, to defend our own actions at all costs, even the cost of life and joy and peace. In place of true repentance, we have despair, confusion, and anger. Help us to see that the call to repentance is good news. But more importantly, help us to repent. Help us to see the selfishness of our lives, the self-justifying attitudes, the unwillingness to deeply examine ourselves, and be open to change. May your loving and purifying Spirit burn away all impurities in us, and overwhelm us with gratitude for your merciful, boundless forgiveness.
Come, O long-expected Jesus, born to set your people free. From our fears and sins release us. Let us find our rest in Thee.
2nd Sunday of Advent
Elizabeth M. Deibert
We learned this week that Richard’s dad and brother might bring his aunt and uncle for Christmas. They don’t have grandchildren yet, so they enjoy the energy of our family. We’d enjoy having them. Richard is concerned about whether they can climb the stairs. I’m concerned that the carpet upstairs desperately needs cleaning. Preparations for Christmas. Opportunity to focus on what’s important – welcoming people. Or not.
Richard and I got into a money argument Friday morning because I’m worried about what we should get the kids – keeping things in balance, and I interpreted his response to my anxiety about this as an unwillingness to engage the subject of finances when really, he just thought this wasn’t the right time for the conversation because I said I had a sermon to write. He’s keeping everything in separate box in his brain, while all the things in my brain have connections to all the other things. Christmas preparations. Opportunity to focus on what’s valuable – good, loving, respectful communication. Or not.
At the Festive Friday party we hosted for families of children and youth, we had a conversation about when everyone puts up decorations. Some get it up on Thanksgiving week-end in time for the first Sunday of Advent. They are done with it by December
26th or at least by the new year. Others of us wait until close to Christmas, then leave up until the 12 day of Christmas – Epiphany, the 6th of January. Preparations for Christmas, the season. Opportunities to focus on the reason for the season – or not.
Our scripture today is concerned with a different kind of preparation. We might call these advent preparations. John the Baptist talks about preparing the way, making a path for our God. He’s preaching repentance for the forgiveness of sin. Repentance? How does that fit into this season of decking the halls and trying to be jolly? Repentance is the heart of our Christmas Preparations. That is how we prepare the way.
Hear the word of the Lord from Luke 3.
NRS Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Emperor Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, and Herod was ruler of Galilee, and his brother Philip ruler of the region of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias ruler of Abilene, 2 during the high priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. 3 He went into all the region around the Jordan, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins, 4 as it is written in the book of the words of the prophet Isaiah, "The voice of one crying out in the wilderness: 'Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight. 5 Every valley shall be filled, and every mountain and hill shall be made low, and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough ways made smooth; 6 and all flesh shall see the salvation of God.'"
We prepare the way by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme these days. We could blame that on the fundamentalist and right wing preachers, who made a mockery of it by shouting from street corners and revival tents and bully pulpits, while having too much hypocrisy in their own lives to make their calls to holiness seem authentic. The right wing preacher would focus our attention on the crookedness of our lives.
We prepare the way for Christmas by repentance. But repentance is not a popular theme. We could blame that on secular humanists and left wing Christians, who invite us to make fun of a faith focused on repentance, who encourage us to think good thoughts about ourselves, to build up self-esteem, and believe in a God who always accepts all people just as they are without condition or reserve. The left wing preacher would focus our attention on the last verse – the promise that all flesh shall see the salvation of our God.
Both polarized groups are missing something – both have cheapened our view of the Christian life and tried to put God in a box for safe keeping. We need to stop choosing sides and realize that both messages are needed. Repentance and forgiveness. Never one without the other. Our reading from Malachi mentions the “refining fire” Fire burns. Fire melts and molds. There is a harshness to fire, but a glorious purpose in the shaping of a godly character. Think of the way fire clear away the brush so the forest is healthier.
We have need of God’s refining fire. We have need of a healthy fear of the Lord’s judgment. We have become far too cozy with God, as if the Lord of heaven and earth is our good buddy with whom we can laugh about sin, ‘cause it doesn’t really matter. All that matters is grace. What a friend we have in Jesus. Yes, but we are not equals. He lived without sin. We live full of sin. Thank God, our Lord is merciful enough to keep us from seeing the full ugliness of our own hearts.
John the Baptist is the forerunner paving the way for Christ’s first sermon which begins “Repent and believe the good news.” John says “repent” and goes on to call his gathered congregation a “brood of vipers.” He challenges them to bear fruits worthy of repentance or be thrown into the fire. When they ask what he means by this repentance, he says, “Whoever has two coats, share with someone who has none. Whoever has food, do likewise.” Repent doesn’t mean sitting around feeling bad about my seven coats in the closet. It doesn’t mean that I should ask for forgiveness with no intention of changing. It means doing something different. Making a change.
To those who had the power of money matters, tax collectors, John said, “Collect no more money than the amount prescribed.” Be fairer than other tax collectors.
To soldiers he said, “Do not threaten people or make false accusations or take what doesn’t belong to you. Be satisfied with what you have.”
To the all crowd, John said of Jesus, I am not worthy to untie his sandals. There’s the measure of humility that we need. If we recognize that we are completely unworthy, fully needy of God’s forgiveness because of our continual sin and blindness of heart, if we can truly repent, which means turning away from the sin we acknowledge, then we are beginning to prepare the way of the Lord.
To prepare the way of the Lord is to stop comparing ourselves with other people, allowing ourselves an opportunity for self-righteousness. That’s why we find it hard to stop watching the slime about other people, people like Tiger Woods, people in high places who fall from grace, because it reinforces our thinking that we’re pretty good folk. We haven’t done anything that bad. We’re nice people.
But the comparison we need to make is of ourselves with a holy God, not ourselves with others. We need to compare ourselves with the people God intended us to be. Ourselves with Jesus Christ. Then we see how far short we fall. It’s not about condemnation of others. It’s not about wallowing in guilt and bad feelings about ourselves. There is no repentance in that – only continued sin and sickness. God wants us well and whole, and we take part in the healing process by cooperating with the treatment plan and taking the medicine. The medicine is repentance, acknowledgment of fault and turning from it. The treatment plan is forgiveness, followed by a renewed commitment to holiness, which requires daily repentance. Forgiveness without continuing repentance and desire for holiness does not cure our adness, our sinful condition. We need comfort of God’s promises, but also the challenge of God’s holy claim on our lives.
Repentance – a daily pattern of turning away from all which is not pleasing to God. Daily awareness of the depth of God’s forgiveness comes by seeing also the depth of our sin. Repentance – making way, preparing for Christ to be born anew in our hearts – is the challenge of this season. Hear these words from The Illumined Heart by Frederica Mathewes-Green: “The ancient Christian literature on repentance is beautiful – full of simplicity, humility, and spreading peace. There is nothing in it of masochism or despair. Those who know themselves to be so greatly forgiven are far from gloomy, but are flooded with joy and deep tranquility. Those who are forgiven much love much. They find it hard to hold grudges against others; they find it hard to hold any thing in this life very tightly. For the Christian, two things seem to be ever linked: sorrow over sin, and gratitude for forgiveness. Repentance is the source of life and joy.” (p. 42)
So we can spend all our time preparing for the cultural traditions of Christmas–holiday lights, presents for one another, food and seasonal gathering. One can stay quite busy with all of that.
But stop to think about Jill and Mark, who left this morning to attend the funeral of their close friend Gary, forty-something, who died, leaving a seven year old and a wife. Think about the family of Tricia’s friends, the Knauert family, four kids and a wife moving through a first Christmas without dad and husband. Think about all the people in the world who are hungrier this Christmas than last Christmas. Do our holiday lights, presents, and sugar cookies do much for that grief? Those Christmas preparations would be like trying puts band-aids on a severed leg.
That’s why it is imperative that we prepare for advent. Prepare our hearts more than our houses. Pray, work on our relationships, give generously, read scripture, listen to music which inspires our faith, think about how we can make a difference. Prepare the way of the Lord by a renewed desire to repent. Repentance is not so much emotion but is renewal of the mind, a rethinking of motives and actions, a willingness to admit sin, and then to work at living according to the will of God. It is attitude. Sorrow for sin. Gratitude for forgiveness. The best gift you can give anyone this year is your own spirit of repentance for the forgiveness of sin.
Lord, we are part of a generation that wants to dismiss the gravity of sin, to deny our own short-comings, to defend our own actions at all costs, even the cost of life and joy and peace. In place of true repentance, we have despair, confusion, and anger. Help us to see that the call to repentance is good news. But more importantly, help us to repent. Help us to see the selfishness of our lives, the self-justifying attitudes, the unwillingness to deeply examine ourselves, and be open to change. May your loving and purifying Spirit burn away all impurities in us, and overwhelm us with gratitude for your merciful, boundless forgiveness.
Come, O long-expected Jesus, born to set your people free. From our fears and sins release us. Let us find our rest in Thee.
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