Saturday, December 28, 2013

"From the Other Side of the Bed"

"From the Other Side of the Bed"

When I was first diagnosed four years ago,  a young clergy friend, a camper years ago in a camp I was the dean of, stopped to see me.  One of the things she said to me was, "Write! "

I said, "About what?"

She began to talk about such things as my upcoming health journey and what it's like from the other side of the bed. Hmmm... I'm not sure how many of the things I've posted on my blog have done that, but I had something happen to me a few weeks ago leading up to Christmas that certainly caused me to think about that theme and that perspective of the circumstance.

A couple from the church brought dinner to us and stayed to enjoy it with us.  Part way through the meal they informed us that some others from the church were coming after the meal to carol to us. 

I must admit that I zoned out a bit after that (sorry, Bob and Jeanne!) My thoughts turned to remembering the years of caroling with high school friends, YF groups, other church groups; sometimes just down the street , sometimes door-to-door, but most of the time it was to the homes of the shut-ins, the homebounds.

The carolers arrived and soon the rooms of our home were full of the familiar and favorite carols.  Oh, how I appreciated the faces and lives and voices of those who  shared with us their love and spirit that night. 

But sometime during their sharing I became aware of a mixture of emotions vieing for space in my heart, head, and tears.  Yes, my wonderful church friends were there because they cared, but I was both full of joy and in pain because I was the one being sung to, the one in need - of being comforted, of being refueled with the hope of the season, of being the recipient of the caring of a community of faith. 

Now, fellow clergy, carolers, friends, please do not hear this as a concern about the appropriateness of caroling to people in need or alone.   This is simply a commentary about the variety of emotions present when we attempt to minister to one another. 

(Now, I  probably would write more if it weren't for the fact that I have just successfully written my first blog post with my eyegaze machine, mostly with my eyes, and my eyes are tired!)

Tuesday, December 24, 2013

CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON II: "Light Casts Out Fear"

"Light Casts Out Fear"

Several years ago during a Lima area ministerial meeting we were sharing with one another our favorite Christmas stories. I told them about The Piano Man’s Christmas and several from The Guideposts Christmas Treasury including “Trouble at the Inn”, the story of Wallace Purling. I was desperate for a new one.

Dawna Boyles, minister of Central Christian Church, introduced us to storyteller Roger Robbennolt and his book Tales of Gletha The Goatlady. I want to share with my blog community on this Christmas Eve one of my favorites from that book: "Lanterns in the Snow." (I'm pretty sure this is way too long to be considered legal. My confessing that probably could be forgiven if a few of you go out and purchase the book! But, certainly don't repost!)

I suppose one of the primary reasons I originally chose to share this story was because of my having so many first-hand experiences with families who've had their own challenges with mental illness - the most personal being my own brother and the impact on the whole family. I suppose I choose it this year because of the growing seemingly popular notion that all mental illness might result in tragic consequences or that all tragedies are the result of someone coping with mental illness. But, I'm a little ahead of the story. The book itself needs a little background before I share today's/tonight's chosen story.

Gletha was called the goatlady because she raised goats. Most of the people in Bear Run Township where Roger Robbennolt grew up just “knew” she was a witch. Roger thought himself to be the one person in the whole human race she really liked. It was to her home he often escaped when his manic-depressive adoptive father went on a tirade. Roger was born in a prison where his birth-mother was an inmate. She tried to raise him for three years. He was finally dropped off at an orphanage with a battered head and three broken ribs. Gletha was Roger’s adoptive mother’s maternal aunt. With that brief introduction hear now “Lanterns in the Snow” for the insights it offers us this Christmas Eve.

My father feared the darkness. His fear deepened in the gloom of December as Christmas, the time of light, drew near. As long as the kerosene lamps were ablaze from sundown until bedtime, he could endure the star-shot blackness that surrounded our tiny shack.

In the Yuletide season, his spirits healed a bit as he watched the lamplight reflected on the Christmas tree decorations: the single ten-cent package of tinsel - bought years before and carefully removed from each ensuing tree because there was no money to buy new - and the patches of sparkle on the eleven peeling red balls which had graced evergreens the twenty years of my parents’ life together.

When my father was at the height of his anger or the depths of withdrawal, Gletha would appear, a pail of warm goat’s milk in her hand, its secret additives disguised by a dash of Karo Syrup. He would swear and order her out of the house and forbid my ever moving through the woods with her again. However, her offerings occasionally shortened his times of darkness. To this day, I wish I knew the healing herbal combination in her gifts.

The Advent season when I was nine glows in my memory. Thirty-seven inches of snow had fallen in three weeks. Four days before Christmas, the wind-driven flakes began to fall again. My father and I fought our way to the barns to care for the cows, sheep and horses. During a break in the storm, we watched a tragic wilderness ballet: a deer floundering in the deep drifts killed and devoured by a pack of wolves.

There was little to do during those blizzard-shrouded days. However, one pastime went on incessantly: rubbernecking. (Young people who are reading this may want to talk about "rubbernecking" with your parents and/or grandparents at some family gathering.) There were eighteen families on the party telephone line - each with its own distinguishable “ring.” Our ring was effected by someone cranking out a short and a long and a short and a long. When another family’s ring was heard, everyone on the party line became adept at covering the mouthpiece with one hand while quietly easing the receiver off the hook with the other in order to listen in on the conversation.

My aunt Floy was among the more persistent rubberneckers. She had one handicap: a small dog named Yip who tore loose with a horrendous cascade of barking at the slightest provocation. As Floy listened, she’d forget to cover the mouthpiece. Yip would sight an offending squirrel through the window and let out a torrent of noise. One of the callers might well shout,“Floy, git off the phone. We want to talk about you.”

The blizzard continued through Christmas Eve Day. Each passing hour brought more concern to Mother and me. We had used the last of the kerosene - and God only knew when we’d be able to get to town to purchase more. The candles, too, were gone. We faced the prospect of celebrating the Christ Child’s birth in fear-filled darkness fought by my father with outbursts of physically expressed anger.

As night erased the pines on the far edge of the clearing, my father and I came in from the barns. He had clung to my hand like a jittery child as we made our way through the thick-falling snow. Entering the tiny kitchen, he opened the lid to the cast iron cookstove. The red glow from the coals reflected on the tears coursing down his face as he cried out to my mother, “Mary, can’t you do something about the dark?”

My mother moved to the wall-mounted phone and cranked out three shorts and a long. The booming voice of a mile-distant neighbor could be heard rolling out over the receiver. My mother pleaded with him: “Ted, can you spare a little kerosene for tonight? We got terrible sickness over here. Frank is really down. We just can’t face spending a night with no light.”

“Mary, I got a little extree, but it’s still snowin’ to beat the devil, and there ain’t no way I can get it to you unless the snow stops. There’s not much chance of that happenin’.

“Well, bye, Ted - and thanks anyhow. Don’t let yerself git blowed away. And listen - you all have a Merry Christmas.”

She hung up the receiver and paused for a moment, leaning wearily against the wall beneath the phone. Daddy had seated himself in his creaking rocking chair by the potbellied stove, clenching and unclenching his fists.

I stood by the window, staring at the last ghosts of blizzard-shattered light. Then I saw her: Gletha, the goatlady. With her soft grey cloths flowing behind her, she appeared to be riding the drifting snow, waving her arms in a slow cadence as if conducting a symphony of the elements. The wind gentled. The falling snow lessened. Through the clouds, burst the incredibly bright light of a full moon starkly detailing every aspect of the Christmas Eve landscape. I blinked my eyes in disbelief - and Gletha was gone.

Then they appeared like fireflies in the distance - some from the north and some from the south: lanterns - seventeen lanterns growing larger as their bearers came nearer. My father heard my gasp of amazement. He stumbled to the window and shoved me roughly aside. He cried out, “Mary - my God - the lights - look at the lights!”

They came on that Christmas Eve, the light bearers. But they bore more than light.  Though jobs were scarce and gardens had dried up and the snow was too deep to care for trap lines, everybody brought something to share. Tilllie Mauldin had come up with the makings of mincemeat pie. Bill Cooley had some ground venison. Gyp Matthews brought corn to pop. Thirty people or more crowded into the tiny living room and kitchen. In their midst was Gletha, the goatlady, with her magic pail of milk and secret powders and the dash of Karo Syrup. For those few moments on that magic evening, the fact that she was suspected of witchcraft - and smelled pungently of the goats she cared for - was forgotten.

She suddenly lifted her hands, and silence settled on the celebration. She said quietly, “I think there’s good spirits a’bornin’ here.” She raised her rich voice in “Silent Night,” and everyone joined in. The Child in the manger became as the snowbound sheepsheds fifty paces off.

We sang and laughed and shared far into the night. Ted rolled in our kerosene barrel, and everyone poured half a lantern-full into it. We would not be without light.

As the crowd moved out to the front yard shouting Christmas greetings, Gletha’s voice was joined by all in one last hymn, “Amazing Grace.” As folk, lanterns in hand, moved out across the moonlit snow, blessed on their way by the sung words of God’s gifting, their pattern assumed the shape of a gigantic moving star. I knew that our Bethlehem had been visited by flesh-shaped hope. (1)

We will attend Christmas Eve services because we believe and to remind ourselves of that belief that Jesus Christ is the light of the world - we’ll attend Christmas Eve services because we believe and to remind ourselves of that belief that Jesus Christ is the light that casts out fear and brings new meaning to all we experience in this life and the life after - we’ll attend Christmas Eve services because we and our world are in need of the hope and peace, the light of the world, Jesus Christ, provides - we’ll be present in order to reconnect with the light of the world, to have the spark of faith within us blown upon by the Holy Spirit so that the fears that threaten to immobilize us might be consumed by the inferno that results and we’ll go to recommit ourselves to living our lives as light-bearers to those in need of a little light in their lives. Jesus Christ is the light of the world. We are his light-bearers.

The world is in need of our doing what we can to provide light where there is darkness. It certainly isn't in need of our closing doors or extinguishing the light in others by beating them up with God's Word become flesh. Inclusion, not exclusion. Love, not hate. Peace, not war. We need to be the light-bearers of hope, kindness, understanding, compassion, acceptance, and encouragement. May it be so in all of our lives!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Seasons Greetings! To all this day, night, tomorrow and every day.

1. Roger Robbennolt, Tales of Gletha the Goatlady (Ave Maria Press, 1993).  

Monday, December 23, 2013

CHRISTMAS EVE SERMON: "Night Lights"

"Night Lights"
Christmas Eve

Christmas Eve is a night when we think about lights - especially ones that help us see in the midst of darkness - that cause hope to emerge within us even while things aren't going so well - that birth within us a sense of "Wow!" because of their beauty being able to break through the darkness all around. I guess what I'm trying to say is: Christmas Eve helps me ponder those times in life when light punctures through the darkness of life and impresses upon us the power there is in light - reminds us that even a little light can do battle with darkness.

One of the images of night lights that comes into my mind are those one can see when flying at night. I find them especially impressive both when they can be seen from a distance from the plane many feet above the earth and when the plane prepares to land and circles a community. Night lights of a city, when seen from above, make every city appear to be a beautiful – clean - crimeless – welcoming place. It doesn’t matter what the reality of the community is, its night lights make it an inviting thing of beauty.

Another image of night lights that fills me with warm feelings are the night lights of this season itself – the lights on trees inside buildings and homes or outside them adorning the trees or hanging from the rooftops. They impart a sense of calmness and peacefulness to my spirit and they heal me, if even for only a moment, of all the strife and anxiety in my life and the world. Over the years Dorothy and I have enjoyed taking drives into the neighborhoods of the communities in which we have lived. It’s a tradition of the season for us. Viewing them on the tv or internet just doesn't do these night lights justice.

When we owned a cottage on Indian Lake we had a night light plugged into the wall outlet in our bathroom. While it didn’t provide a whole lot of light, what it did provide was enough to make the cottage feel warmer, more secure, more comfortable. And remarkably, the darker it got during the night, the more light that little night light seemed to offer.

Night lights produce hope in me – a sense of peace – a reminder that there is something more powerful than all the darkness present in our world.

“The Christmas story begins in darkness. There was the darkness of oppression, for God’s people were a conquered people. They were a beaten and a defeated people. There was the darkness of persecution. Indeed, it was a despised universal taxation that brought the participants in the story together on that fateful night. There was the darkness of disillusionment. There was an ever-increasing number who felt that violence, not faith, was the most effective path. Yes, on that first Christmas, the mood was one of despair and resignation.” (1)

Things aren't that much different in our own day, now are they? Darkness is a part of the world we live in. Wars, rumors of wars, disease, hunger, unemployment, death, child abuse, racism, sexism, threatening weather conditions – these all are a part of our modern world. There’s not a person among us who has not been touched by the darkness of life. We will not attend Christmas Eve services because we are naïve about the darkness. We won't go because we're trying to deny that darkness exists. Despite what some of our popular religious friends sometimes try to persuade us and the rest of the world to believe, the scriptures do not suggest to us that everything is alright around us because God is with us. Rather, the scriptures openly confess that there is real pain in this world – that darkness is real and present. (2)

But, the scriptures also reveal that darkness isn’t all there is – that that’s not the whole story - that there is light at the end of the tunnel – that there is hope.

The good news of Christmas, especially powerfully proclaimed and experienced during Christmas Eve services, is that in the midst of the darkest of days, light comes. Darkness cannot overcome/snuff out this light. This light is an eternal flame, not just some temporary flicker. There’s no question that we live in a day when it feels as if the light is being snuffed out. As we continue to hear the mounting death toll in wars all around the world, the suffering that results from natural disasters, the violence of bullying fueled by words of scripture taken out of context by people who choose to hate and exclude rather than love and include, the violence in the streets and boardrooms of our own community because of race/greed/drugs/unemployment/sex/rivalries/fanaticism/politics/abuse/etc., missing children, the plight of the homeless, we need to hear the words of the Christmas story and know in our hearts and in our minds that the light still shines and there is hope.

Light is always stronger than darkness. I don't offer that observation as simply a hopeful faith statement. If there’s even a little bit of light in a very dark room, we know that light is present.  We attend Christmas Eve candlelight services because we want to physically and visually be reminded of that truth which the experience of lighting candles provides. Light always intrudes upon darkness.
 
Christmas Eve reminds us that Jesus Christ is the light of the world and his coming then and down through the ages into the world and into the lives of individuals rekindles hope. It’s what we celebrate in a unique way on Christmas Eve each year. And each year we pray that it will take hold a little more in our lives – in our communities of faith – in our communities – and in our world.

Christmas Eve is a night like none other – a night when darkness is understood in a new way – a night when light coming into it is filled with meaning. Christmas Eve is a night when we reaffirm our belief that light is more powerful than darkness – that love is more powerful than hate – that peace is more powerful than war – that reconciliation is possible – that God can be known in a baby – in you and me – and through us others can see the light and have hope reborn in them.

The greatest need in our mixed up and confused world this day is to let people know that there is hope – that life is worth living no matter what the circumstances are around us. We are the people of light and we must share that light in a dark and dreary land so that hope will shine through the darkness. Let us make that our resolve this Christmas Eve.

Merry Christmas and God bless you one and all!

Brett Blair and staff, “A Great Light,” www.esermons.com.
Ibid.

Thursday, December 19, 2013

SERMON: "Joseph's Response" or "Joe's Story"

"Joseph’s Response" or "Joe's Story"
Matthew 1:18-25

Most of the time when we think about the Christmas story - about the coming of God as a human - we think about it the way the author of Luke recorded it. Our hearts warm with the memory of how the author records the prediction of John's birth to Zechariah and Elizabeth - the described appearance of the angel Gabriel to Zechariah and Mary - Mary's beautiful and poetic response known as the Magnificat - Mary's and Elizabeth's visit with one another. We know that story. We are enthralled by that story - especially on Christmas Eve do we marvel at its beauty - at its significance for us as a story of Mary's obedience - as a story of her willingness to be used by God. Luke's better known story is the Christmas story from Mary's perspective.

But what about Joe's story? Is there something for us to learn by how Joseph responded to what was going on around him?

Joe's story is also a marvelous story. It's a story about a man looking forward to getting married - a story about a man finding our his fiancee is pregnant, but not by him. It's a story about the struggle he went through with what to do about the situation. It's Matthew's spin on the Christmas story.

I'm going to let one of my favorite storytellers, John Sumwalt, recreate the essence of the biblical story to prepare us for our pondering the story anew:

“Mary didn’t know what to do. How could she break the news to Joe? They had only been dating for six weeks, but she knew that he loved her. She could see it in his eyes. And she knew that she loved him. He was so gentle and understanding. There weren’t many men in the world like Joe.

“Mary had met Joe in the emergency room on the very night of the assault, and they had been together every day since, as if it was meant to be. Joe was there waiting for a friend who had twisted an ankle in a softball game. She sat next to him in the waiting room before they took her in to be examined. Mary had been too upset to talk, and Joe hadn’t tried to make conversation. He didn’t even ask what had happened. He simply looked at her with tenderness and said, ‘It will be okay. They will take care of you.’ Even those few words had been enough to create a bond between them. And Joe had come back later, after he took his friend home, to see if she was all right. By then Mary was able to talk about the rape; the horror she had felt during the attack and the humiliation and anger that were still growing within her. She was grateful for his presence. Somehow it was easier to talk about it with him than with the counselor who had been assigned to her case. Joe had listened quietly for several hours that night, and had called or come to keep her company every night since, gradually coaxing her out of her small apartment into the world again.

“Joe had never once tried to touch her, and Mary loved him for that. He seemed to know without her saying it that she couldn’t stand to be touched - - not yet. Soon, maybe. She had found herself longing for that moment and wondering what it would be like during the last couple of weeks. Mary knew that Joe would wait until she gave him a sign, and she had thought that it might be tonight. But when she let him know what the doctor had told her today, would Joe want to touch her? Was this the end of her hope that their love would lead to marriage and a family? What would Joe do when she told him about the baby?” (1)

So Sumwalt's story ends. Obviously his intent was to create within us the enormity of the situation Mary and Joseph faced with the news of their pregnancy. Pretty effective, wouldn’t you say? When Joseph learned that his fiancee was pregnant, his first thought was that Mary had been stepping out on him. He knew what had gone on between them and he knew there was no way this organism growing within her was his child. In order for us to understand the significance of Joseph’s response we need to know a few things about what preparing for a Jewish couple to marry in Mary and Joseph’s day involved.

First, there was an engagement period. Often, the parents of the couple or a “match-maker” made these early arrangements and sometimes when the couple was still quite young. Marriage was deemed too important a step to be left to emotion. (2)

Then, following the engagement period there was the time of betrothal. It was similar to our time between when a couple gets engaged and when they actually marry, but a lot more legally binding. The couple either ratified the prior arrangements or they ended it. But, once the betrothal began, that was it. There was no turning back.  Contracts were signed. Dowries were exchanged. Agreements made between them and their extended families were now legally binding. (3)

This betrothal time lasted about a year. During the betrothal they were known as husband and wife, although without the rights of husband and wife. The only way the relationship could be terminated was by divorce and then only for some well spelled out and documented reasons. (4)

So, Mary was pregnant. She and Joseph were in this betrothal time. Joseph wasn’t the father of the baby growing inside her. When Joseph heard about her condition, he assumed the worst - that she had been unfaithful – that she had committed adultery. It was one of the things that by law meant he could divorce her. In fact, it was what was expected of him.

Now, as a “righteous” man, Joseph could have accomplished this divorce in a couple of ways. One way would have been to publicly humiliate her – parade her around the community and let the law and the public opinion have their way with her. Making a spectacle of someone who has deviated from the laws or the values of a community is certainly one way to keep order and to safe-guard further erosion of acceptable behavior. It would be considered by some the “righteous” thing to do.

On the other hand, it was possible for a “righteous” man to carry out the policies, laws, values of the community, more mercifully. Joseph also had the option of taking with him two witnesses and going to see Mary privately; confronting her about her behavior and then quietly divorcing her with only the two witnesses present. It was an option Joseph probably considered. It would allow Mary to save face – keep her from being disgraced publicly. It would truly have been a very “righteous” way to have handled the predicament. Even his considering this option revealed the special kind of man Joseph was.

But, another one of those angels of God’s got involved and planted within Joseph the idea that there was even another, even a more radical form of “righteous” behavior he could exhibit. He could take Mary as his wife despite public opinion, legal rights, or the appearance of broken values!

And guess what? That’s what he did. Joseph married Mary and thus earned for himself a special place in religious history. He had every right to have said, “Yeah, right,” and been on his way when he heard Mary’s story. But, he didn’t. He chose instead to believe the explanation provided him by the angel and proceed with the marriage. He chose to obey God’s leading – to do the merciful thing – to protect Mary and her baby, Jesus, from the rumor mongers and the legalists – to accept potential embarrassment for himself rather than public humiliation which would surely be Mary’s lot if he divorced her and let her go full-term on her own. And the baby that would be born, well, heaven help him or her.

I would like to suggest that the world is desperately in need of people who are willing to be so used by God – willing to model this unique way God wants us to deal with one another and our mistakes, sins, wrongdoing, human condition. Joseph’s response models for us a new understanding of how God wants to relate to God’s people. His response serves as a precursor to the new understanding that Jesus himself goes on to proclaim and model in his life and teachings. It’s compassion, grace, forgiveness, mercy that should guide our meting out of justice – that should mold the way we relate to one another. Gone from righteousness shall be condemnation, punishment, chastisement, excommunication, banishment, rigid judgment. The world is in need of persons who will follow Joseph’s lead and respond with compassion – who will side with trying to understand, hospitality, acceptance, encouragement, grace rather than further laying on people guilt, grief, embarrassment, rejection.

All of us – and the children and the marginalized among us most of all – need to feel secure, feel protected, experience the comfort there is in knowing that God’s promises are true – that it doesn’t matter to God who we are, where we live, how much we make, how much or little we have – we are all loved by God the same. People need to know God as a Being with staying power – as one who doesn’t abuse, doesn’t abandon, doesn’t heap on when we’ve made a mistake. And, I think people come to believe that, understand that, when the people of God walk the walk and talk the talk.

In The Guideposts Christmas Treasury there is a story that I think speaks volumes about the importance of our modeling Joseph’s response. The story is entitled “Sit next to Me, Please.”

Many service clubs do things to serve their communities. A Kiwanis Club adopted a boys' orphanage as their project. The orphanage was 40 miles from the club's community but the members decided to drive the distance once a month to spend an evening with the boys. One of the members, Bob Rockwell, reluctantly finally agreed to go one month after having made excuse after excuse for several months. He really believed his monthly check should have been enough.

It was dark by the time the men arrived, but the boys could be seen crowded on the porch waiting for them to arrive. One of Bob’s friends whispered to him as they walked up the path toward the home, “This is such a big night for these boys. It’s almost embarrassing the way they enjoy us coming.”

About that time Bob felt a tug on his coat. It was a seven or eight-year-old who pleadingly asked him, “Will you be my company?” And then without taking a breath he continued with: “My name’s Jimmy – Jimmy Thompson. What’s yours?” Bob answered and noticed that some emotions were stirring inside him that he hadn’t expected despite how tired he was after the long drive and day at work.

Jimmy spoke again: “First time here, isn’t it Mister? Want me to show you around?” Bob no sooner agreed than Jimmy was off proudly pointing out the gym and the library and then his dorm – which was nothing more than a narrow room lined with rows of small iron beds.

Jimmy’s breathing seemed a bit labored and Bob wondered if they’d climbed the stairs too fast. But, even while struggling to breathe Jimmy called Bob’s attention to his very own wardrobe. Bob was shocked at how little was inside and felt a bit guilty when he thought of his own son’s overflowing toy chest.

The dinner bell sounded and Jimmy encouraged Bob to hurry. But, he asked him not to run because he had asthma. Jimmy turned toward Bob and asked, “Will you sit next to me, sir? Please sit next to me!” Bob did.

By the time the meal was over Bob and Jimmy were buddies. Bob listened to Jimmy as he told about his not having a father and how his mother had to work all week, but came out on Sunday to take him home for the day. He also learned that Jimmy lacked the ability to play ball very well because of his health problems. And he learned about Jimmy’s hope for the future. At one point, Bob, when Jimmy thought he wasn’t paying attention, noticed that Jimmy left his little hand on his arm for a long moment. Bob closed his story with these words: “This boy needs a father! He’s overflowing with love and there’s no one to receive it!”

Then he heard Jimmy ask: “Will you come again next month, Mister? If you do, I’ll save a place for you.  Right next to me.”

“The pleading eyes were almost too much for me,” Bob continued. “I was having trouble with my breathing. Me! The smart guy who didn’t want to give up an evening of TV to come here! Who thought generosity came through the checkbook. Why, this tyke had given me more in an hour than I could give to the home in a hundred years!”

“How selfish I was to consider money alone an adequate gift. Why does it take so long for most of us to learn that the real gift is of one’s self?”

“Promise you’ll come next month?” The request was wheezed again.

“Scout’s honor,” Bob replied. To himself he said, “I’ll be here, Jimmy.  I wouldn’t miss being here for anything, because you will be saving me a place – right next to you." (5)

The purpose of our retelling the stories of Mary and Joseph every year and their roles in this most holy of births is not just to glorify them. It's also done to remind us that God continues to ask of each of us this very personal gift of ourselves as we celebrate the birth. Just as God's very being was given at Christmas - just as Mary and Joseph gave themselves for the revelation of God in history in a new way - so we are asked to do the same - to give ourselves to the Christ child, to give the heart of who we are to a needy world. Joseph was able to do God's will - to be used by God - because he had a change of heart. Yes, he was already known as a "righteous" man - but he needed something more - something that only God working on our hearts can bring to pass.

As this Advent season - this holy time of preparation - enters its final days, it's important that we consider where it is God wants to work on us - where it is God is leading us to invest our whole being. We need to ponder what it would mean if God wanted our whole being under the Christmas tree this year.

Joe's story is about what God can do with the ugly situations we sometimes get ourselves into - even when we don't mean to. It's about what can happen when we turn our lives and those situations over to God. Joe's story - Joseph's story -  can be our own story if we open our lives up to the God of creation. The Christmas story is not just about God's activity - God's coming in the form of a baby once in history. It's about God being present with us here and now. There's no gift God wants more than you and me.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holiday! Seasons Greetings!
   
John Sumwalt, “A Righteous Man,” Storyshare, December 19, 2004 issue.
William Barclay, The Daily Study Bible: The Gospel of Matthew: Vol. 1 (Edinburgh, Scotland: The Saint Andrew Press, 1958), p. 9.
Ibid.
Ibid.
Robert H. Rockwell, The Guidepost Christmas Treasury, “Sit Next to Me, Please,” (Carmel, New York: Guideposts Magazine Guideposts Associates, Inc., 1972), pp. 176-178.

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

SERMON: "Being Favored"

Being Favored
Luke 1:26-38

Two of the notables of the nativity are Mary and Elizabeth. Now, there are two things in these two unusual pregnancy stories that I think it’s important for us to pause and think about. The two ideas include the idea mentioned in both of being favored and then the willingness of the two women to let God’s will be done in and through their lives.

Both women came to understand that they were favored. Elizabeth announced that she considered herself favored and that she understood her pregnancy to be God’s way of reminding her of it. Luke reported that Mary heard the angel tell her that she was.

I spent several years as an apprentice of Deb Campbell learning about and leading Servant Leadership. One of the books we studied was Henri Nouwen’s The Life of the Beloved. He uses the word “beloved” to try and capture the meaning of this idea of being favored. According to Nouwen, we are all God’s beloved – we are all loved by God. He references the account of the baptism of Jesus as the place where the word first came to him as the one that best describes how God wants to define God’s relationship with us. Let me remind us all of the way the gospel writers described that scene: “No sooner had Jesus come up out of the water than he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit, like a dove, descending on him. And a voice came from heaven: ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; my favor rests on you.’” God sees us as God sees Jesus, as beloved. (1)

Nouwen further states in his book that understanding ourselves - accepting ourselves - as the beloved involves/begins with our believing, our understanding, ourselves to be chosen by God, to have found favor with God. Now, this chosenness isn’t the kind we think of when we think of being chosen for a team. It’s not a choseness that means that others have to be rejected or excluded - it’s not that you have to do something better than everyone else in order to be chosen. It’s not that you have more skills – more important gifts – are more talented. Every one of us is chosen the way God chooses. God favors each one of us because we are God’s children. God wants to take up residence in each of our lives just as God did in Mary’s life. God wants to be born again in each one of us and through us into the world around us. God wants every one of us to understand ourselves as chosen – as beloved – as favored. (2)

God has already taken the initiative. We’re already loved. We’re already chosen. The first step on the journey with God is accepting the idea that we are loved by God. God wants to be a baby in the wombs of our souls. God wants us to nurture God’s presence inside us and be nurtured by that presence.

The interview with Gabriel ended when Mary said, “Here am I, the servant of the Lord; let it be with me according to your word.” “Do in me - do through me - Lord, what you want and need to do.” Despite the fact that she surely knew there were going to be some rough times ahead, Mary accepted the role God wanted her to assume. She was so overwhelmed – so joyous of the news that she was favored by God in spite of her feelings of unworthiness - that she put aside all her feelings of inferiority and turned her whole being over to being an instrument for God to carry out God’s plan for the world.

In order to come to earth in human form, God had to have the cooperation of a human and her body. Like Mary, we need to make our bodies available for God’s will to be carried out in our day. Good happens to us, in us, and through us when we turn our lives over for God’s service and let God live in and through us – when we let ourselves be a part of the continuing story of the incarnation.

Meister Eckhart, a medieval mystic and theologian once wrote: “We are all meant to be mothers of God. What good is it to me if this eternal birth of the divine Son takes place unceasingly but does not take place within me? And, what good is it to me if Mary is full of grace and if I am not also full of grace? What good is it to me for the creator to give birth to his Son if I do not also give birth to him in my time and my culture? This, then is the fullness of time: When the Son of God is begotten in us.” (3)

God needs the wombs of favored ones to continue God’s Son’s entering the world. Each one of us are favored ones of God – each one of us are God’s chosen ones. Let us ponder today – consider today – what letting God take up residence in us in a new way might mean. Today, let us hear the good news that we are favored – that we are chosen – that we are the beloved. Let us allow Christ the opportunity to grow in us.


Henri J. M. Nouwen, Life of the Beloved, (New York: The Crossroad Publishing Company, 1995) pp. 25 – 33.
Ibid., pp. 45 – 47.
Meister Eckhart.

Monday, December 16, 2013

SERMON: "A Season For the Weak"


"A Season For the Weak"
Luke 1:39-55  

Mary was a plain, young, peasant girl – a self-described lowly handmaiden. Some Bible scholars have suggested she may have been as young as 14. She was an unwed, pregnant teenager. And yet – and yet – she was entrusted with this great honor: to allow the Savior of the world to be nurtured within her.

There’s a story told about a wandering scholar in the middle ages who was deathly sick. The scholar was very poor, so he was taken to a hospital for orphans and transients. Assuming that because he was poor he would not know their learned Latin language the doctors began to discuss the possibility of using him for some medical experiments. They rationalized, out loud, that since he was a worthless wanderer it really wouldn’t matter if the experiments were failures. When the wandering scholar heard the comment, he opened his eyes and looked up at those doctors and he said in their learned Latin tongue, “Please don’t call anyone worthless for whom Christ has died.”

If there’s a message in the fact that Jesus, the Christ, was born in a stable among animals, in an obscure village like Bethlehem, to an unknown peasant teenager, it is precisely that his coming was for everyone – that human worth is not measured by wealth or position or power, but only by the fact that everyone is a child of God. All of life is sacred – all of life is useable by God – the lowliest, the littlest, the least is exalted – is lifted up – is significant in God’s eyes.

If you hear nothing else today, hear this: there’s not a one of us who is unimportant to God. No matter what we’ve done in our lives up to this point – no matter how much we have earned – no matter the style of our clothes – we all matter to God. That’s the message of Christmas, at least according to the author of Luke.

Luke’s Gospel has been called by many Bible scholars “The Gospel of the underdog.” There’s just a sensitivity in the book for the least, the lost and the poor – those often overlooked by the rest of society. It is in Luke that we learn the story about the Samaritan who stopped and helped a stranger after a busy priest and pious Levite passed by. It is in Luke that the cleansed Samaritan leper returned to thank Jesus. It is in Luke that we read about the rich man and the poor man Lazarus. In Matthew we read, “Blessed are the poor in spirit;” but, in Luke we read, “Blessed are you poor, for yours is the Kingdom of God.” In Luke Jesus is the friend of outcasts and sinners. Only in Luke do we read the parable about the self-righteous Pharisee and despised tax gatherer; the story about Jesus’ friendship with the tax collector Zacchaeus; the story about the dying thief being granted entrance into paradise; the story of the son who disgraced himself but who found a father waiting for him when he returned.  

In Luke’s day Jewish males thanked God that they were not born “a Gentile, a slave or a woman.” Luke gave every one of them a special place in his Gospel. Luke had Jesus describe his ministry by quoting from the prophet Isaiah: “The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord.” (Luke 4:18-19) It is in Luke that we read about the prophetess Anna and of Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist; that we read about the widow of Nain and of the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet in the house of Simon the Pharisee; that the pictures of Mary and Martha and Mary Magdalene is made vivid; that we read about Jesus speaking to a group of women on his way to Calvary and a group of women standing on the side of the road weeping.

So, we shouldn’t be surprised that the author chose to write about the birth from a woman’s point of view – from Mary’s point of view. And, that he has her declaring with her own voice: “God has put down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of low degree; God has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent empty away.” (Luke 1:52-53)

The author of Luke wrote about the coming of the Savior into the world through the point of view of the mother – Mary – because she represents so much that is significant about the way God is at work in this world doing a new thing. The author of Luke wrote about this historically, theologically significant event from the point of view of Mary because she represents the powerlessness of the young – because she represents humility – because she represents lowliness – because she represents insignificance – because she was not royalty – because she was not well-educated – because she was poor – because she represents everything other than what the insiders in the faith would expect concerning the promised one of God – because she represents the weak of our world. Yes, it is this story we know so well that has birthed this season into a time when the weak are especially paid attention to – cared for – ‘Tis indeed a season for the weak.

Once, in a seminary in Bangalore, Mother Teresa was criticized by another nun. “Mother Teresa, you are spoiling the poor people by giving them things free. They are losing their human dignity.”

Everyone got quiet. Mother Teresa then calmly responded: “No one spoils as much as God himself. See the wonderful gifts (God) has given us freely. All of you here have no glasses, yet you all can see. If God were to take money for your sight, what would happen? Continually we are breathing and living on oxygen that we do not pay for. What would happen if God were to say, ‘If you work four hours, you will get sunshine for two hours?’  How many of us would survive then?” Then Mother Teresa offered, “There are many congregations that spoil the rich; it is good to have one congregation in the name of the poor, to spoil the poor.”

The Gospel of Jesus Christ, you see, flips the social order – it elevates the humble and puts down the pompous.  (1) And those of us who have said “yes, Jesus is Lord of our life and the community of faith of which we agree to be in ministry with", must take that message to heart if we are really serious about following Jesus. The only wealth we have as a church or as individual Christians is whether the poor and weak and disenfranchised are drawn to us – understand us to be a people and a place where all are welcome. It is not how large our endowment fund is or how large a staff we have or how beautiful our building is that is the measure of our faithfulness, but whether those that are poor of body, mind, wealth, spirit, or standing in the community are able to find comfort within our fellowship.  

Mary envisioned a day when God would exalt the have-nots, the lowly, like her. She believed God began to pull it off by honoring her with the birthing rights to allow God to become one of us – to enter the world in this most loving act. And you and I, as Mary’s brothers and sisters, are being called/are expected to continue the birthing of God in this world.  

As far as Mary’s neighbors and the religious and political leaders of the day were concerned, Mary certainly shouldn’t have been in a position to have such a major role in history. But, you see, God needed to make a point – and that point is that everyone is important in God’s kingdom. We are chosen not because of who we are but because of how God can use us – because of our willingness to let God work in and through us. God can transform the world through the lowly, the different, the insignificant when we say “yes” to the invitation to let God work through us.  

It was a new day for the world when Jesus was born. He brought with him a whole new set of values. A manger exalted over a mansion – peace exalted over power – and persons seen as persons, no matter how small, no matter how big, no matter what color the skin, no matter the amount of hair on the head, or what street in the city they lay their tired heads. The gift we have to offer God is not our social position in this world nor the possessions we have accumulated; but rather, it is ourselves – complete with warts – handicaps – personality quirks – whatever our weirdness or uniqueness. God can use us with whatever we have to offer if we say “yes.”

“’Tis a season for the weak.” Mary, Bethlehem, a baby, a manger, you and me - God can use us. All it takes is our willingness to be used – our statement of faith – our “yes.”

O God of us all and all that we are or aren’t, we pause because we are mindful of your great gift. We marvel at the thought that you can use us like you used Bethlehem and Elizabeth and Mary and Joseph and an infant – we even hesitate in disbelief because we cannot find too much good in ourselves for you to use. Help us in these moments to believe you accept even us and help us to accept the invitation to be used by you.

And now, as we move toward the close of the Advent season and the focal point of all our preparation may our spirits be lifted up – may hope, peace, love, and joy again fill our every pore – may the wonder of Christ’s birth bring healing to each and everyone of us. For it’s in his name we pray.  Amen.


Dr. Bill Bouknight, “Mary’s Revolutionary Song,” Collected Sermons (ChristianGlobe Networks, Inc., 2002), 0-000-0000-13.
Addendum:

It's not Marxism or socialism, it's Christianity! Sorry, Rush, I think the scriptures support Pope Francis' encouraging and prophetic word in this era just as prior popes and other Christian leaders have since Jesus himself - even many non-Christians hold these axioms to be important tenets of how life should be lived/ordered/organized and what is important. This is not to defend the Catholic Church, my own United Methodist denomination, nor any other denomination or popular religious figure of being guilty of abusing our resources to the neglect of the poor and disadvantaged throughout history. That's no reason not to call ourselves to repentance and to a reemphasizing the good news for all people - yes, it's that generosity and love and charity and joy and kindness and peace are fruits of the spirit and for everyone - the meek and lowly as well as the rich and powerful. Yes, we're guilty of going through cycles of emphasizing this aspect of who we are but that doesn't make it less true for all generations. And yes, we Christians have plenty to do to get our own houses in order! We do indeed suffer from being too well off, too comfortable, too greedy!

(While I never did find the particular article I was looking for to further reference my disappointment in Rush's comments, the below articles certainly provide further wings for thinking. The one observation in particular I was trying to find was one reminding us all that Jesus lived and taught long before Karl Marx did, which means Marx may have been guilty of using some concepts similar to some of Jesus' teachings in order to popularize his oppressing political agenda, but the popes and other religious leaders down through the centuries have not been so mislead by Marx. Oh, and I did read Rush's comments in full and find them even more offensive than I thought I would.)

Mary C. Curtis, "The Message of Pope Francis Can Survive Rush and the Rest," The Washington Post, 12/6/2013.
Trent Horn, "Rush Limbaugh Doesn't Get Pope Francis," Catholic Answers, 12/4/13.

Saturday, December 14, 2013

"I've Been Flashed For the First TIme!"

"I've Been Flashed For the First Time!"

Yes, I've experienced my first original flash mob! I was sitting in the food court at Polaris Mall near Columbus while Dorothy did a little more shopping. The place was packed, but that's not unusual in a food court at Polaris as the holiday times near.

I'm not really sure how slow or small it started, but it wasn't long before there were numerous young people standing up singing the Hallelujah Chorus a cappella. It was awesome! Really, I think the sound in a large mall of a mass choir is hard to beat. I have no idea where the group was from - there was no announcement and they all split when they finished.

Sorry for the shameless post title, but now that I have your attention, I have a few other things on my mind. Actually, I've been contemplating writing something about Christmas trees for a couple of weeks. First, a little review of their historical association with the present season.

Like most of the traditions associated with the season we Christians popularly refer to as Christmas, the utilizing of evergreens to adorn the insides of our homes had a secular or at least non-Christian beginning. Long before Christianity began, ancient people decorated their homes during the winter with evergreens. In some countries it was believed such practices would ward off evil spirits. (1)

Many countries developed festivities around the winter soltice - December 21 & 22. Winter greenery - evergreens - reminded them that spring and summer would bring back other green plants. Through the centuries more cultural celebrations morphed from these early meanings to the presence of evergreens during the winter months. But you can read more about that if you care to at many sites. Just google "the history of Christmas trees." I usually start with history.com.

It's believed by most historical scholars that our Christmas tree tradition began in Germany sometime in the 16th century and that Martin Luther was the first to add lighted candles. Apparently, while walking home one evening the stars twinkling between the branches of evergreen trees really left an impression on him. (2)

The tradition was a little slow to be adopted as an appropriate way to celebrate the season. In fact, it was regarded as a pagan symbol as late as 1840. The Puritans especially were concerned about such frivolous activities (Christmas trees, Christmas carols, joyful celebrations) influencing the sacredness of Christmas. (3)

OK, enough of the history lesson. Christmas trees were one of the seasonal things dad came up with us to do to provide a little extra cash for the family business - Croy's Produce. They were on display in our front yard on West Main Street in Ottawa. As I remember how it all came together each year, Grandpa Paul Croy would go to Michigan and purchase the trees for us to sell - some years hauling them back himself and other years a truck bringing them to us.
I absolutely enjoyed selling those trees. It was the helping someone or a family find their perfect tree that offered the biggest thrill. People would point to a tree, I would pull it out and into an open area, thump its trunk bottom on the ground to shake out the loose needles and sometimes snow and to help the branches spread out. Then I would spin it around so the customer could get a good look at the whole tree. Most of our customers were people from the area that we already knew. I remember finally being trusted to price the trees myself (perhaps only a figment of my imagination knowing my dad!). It was cold work, but so enjoyable seeing satisfied customers walk away with that year's treasure and put the $3, $4, up to maybe $10 in the money pouch (trees weren't near as expensive in those days).

The last few days before Christmas may have been my favorite time though. Dad would decide the stock was getting low enough or time was getting short to unload what remained and he would start cutting the price and then Christmas eve and free trees! They weren't the pick of the front yard woods but they were sure to brighten some family's gathering. There were a few trees that were free earlier in the season as well as dad instructed us to take to such and such a house a tree because he knew they were in need. I remember a time or two when on the spot he would announce that "there's no charge for that tree, Merry Christmas!"

Sometime during those years I swore there would always be a real tree in my homes. Artificial trees were just beginning to be marketed but they were pretty ugly. Luckily, I married a woman who felt the same way and so it was for the first 15-20 years of our family life. When we shopped for a tree we didn't go to just one lot though - seemed like dozens of places had them and we would find the perfect one if we just went to another place. White Cottage in Lima was where we had the most success. But sometimes we also ventured out when the children were young to one of those tree farms and cut our own.

Then came a dark and dreary night during the Advent of 1985 or 86 or 87. I was at some "important," I'm sure, meeting at Linden Heights UMC. As I remember it the tree had already been up for a few days. This was in the days before cell phones but somehow Dorothy got the message to someone at church that I should hurry home. Like I said, it was an important meeting and continued having conversations with people as I felt I needed to and in about an hour I headed home.

After pulling the car into the garage I opened the door to the family room and discovered my wife standing on a chair, balancing herself against the picture window while holding onto the tree - she'd been like that for over an hour! I'm sure you all have seen people with steam coming out of their head? Well, this was something more like steam and ice and the red that accompanies anger all rolled into one. I don't remember her exact words but they were something like: "Where have you been? Get over here and hold this tree for awhile!" (Don't ask Dorothy for the details as our versions differ a bit, but  you get the picture! I was in real trouble!)  

We're still married but when the artificial trees went on sale after the holidays we were definitely in the market for one. You know, it's amazing how much more authentic they've become since my early vow to not have anything to do with them! We're on our third one in 20+ years - our most recent one is even pre lit! Oh, the last couple of years we've ended up with a real tree also to support a local food bank, but keep those complimentary comments coming about how much like a real tree our artificial one looks. It strokes our egos!

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! Seasons Greetings! Happy New Year!


1. history.com, "History of Christmas Trees."
2. Ibid.
3. Ibid.







Wednesday, December 11, 2013

SERMON: "Walking the Walk"

"Walking the Walk"
Isaiah 11:1-10 Matthew 3:1-12

The Israelites were going through some tough times back when Isaiah was speaking on behalf of God. They were being treated cruelly by the Assyrians and thus lived in constant fear of violence. The dynasty of King David, the son of Jesse, was but a mere stump compared to what it once was. Isaiah believed God was going to send a leader who was going to turn things upside down or rightside up if you will. It was going to be a really radical shift - so radical that even the natural instincts of animals would be effected. We read about Isaiah's vision of it in the 11th chapter of the book that shares Isaiah’s name.

Several years ago I read an account about a zoo that created a special exhibit of a lion and a lamb during the Christmas season. Supposedly, they were put in the same cage and thousands of people went to see the unusual pair. A reporter asked the zoo director one day about the unusual arrangement and whether there’d been any problems with it. The zoo keeper didn’t even flinch as he responded, “Not really, except we have to put a new lamb in the cage every couple of days.”

I’m pretty sure it’s not a true story. I’m pretty sure that we’d have heard an outpouring of objections from all sorts of groups if it was. The point is, we laugh because despite the hopefulness this optimistic picture Isaiah described is, we know it’s not our reality. At times we even give in to doubting whether it will ever happen. The utopian world it portrays is so different from anything we’ve ever seen. We understand the pessimism one preacher started a sermon of his on this text with: “The wolf and the lamb? I don’t think so. The Palestinian and Israeli? No way. The Serb and the Muslim? Nope. Peace? Ain’t going to happen.” And then in another part of his sermon he mused, “A wolf and a lamb will lie together in peace - when they’re both dead.” (1)

In the workforce magazine, Personnel Journal, an incredible statistic is noted: “Since the beginning of recorded history, the entire world has been at peace less than 8% of the time!” The magazine discovered in its study that of 3,540 years of recorded history, only 286 years of them were peaceful - 8,000 peace treaties were made and broken. (2)

Call me an idealist - a naive peace-nik - if you want, but despite all the evidence against it, I still believe in, hope for, long for Isaiah’s vision. How and when will it happen? I don’t know. My understanding of that day is that we human beings are not going to bring it to pass by our own efforts. It’s going to happen when Jesus returns. Until then we’re going to experience war after war after war. Our reality is that until Jesus comes again there are always going to be the Osama Bin Laden types who want to prevent peace except by their rules and ideologies. Nations will always disagree with one another because of the reality of sin - greed, power, jealousy will always be present until Christ returns and establishes his reign on earth. While we are somewhat comforted by the blow terrorism has been dealt in recent years and by the nations sitting around the peace table committed to drawing up a new government, peace, eternal peace won’t happen until the Prince of Peace returns.

So, what should we do in the meantime? Nothing? Ignore the world situation? Bury our heads in the sand? Assume a fatalist attitude and stop trying to make a difference? No. We need to be about helping prepare the soil for Christ’s coming. Or, as Robert Beringer put it in his sermon “God’s Christmas Greeting”: “We are to establish beachheads for God’s coming kingdom. Even if we can’t win a final victory over evil, we can at least accomplish a spiritual D-day.” And then he went on to claim that we do that by reconciling the wolf and the lamb within ourselves. He described their presence inside us in this way: “There is a tiger within you and me that wants to snarl at people on the other side of the political or ideological fence.” “There is a wolf within us that reopens old wounds and past failures even within our own households, just to make sure that even those nearest to us know we haven’t forgotten their failures; maybe forgiven, but not forgotten.” “There is a cobra within us that lies in wait for people who are different from us, so that we can catch them fulfilling our prejudices about them.” “There is a bear within us that gives other people only one chance to disappoint us; and if they do, we reject them forever.” (3)

What should we do about this reality within us, this battle going on inside us so like the seemingly senseless wars between the nations of the world? If we’re to be about the task of preparing both the soil of nations and the soil of our own lives for Christ’s coming, what is it we should be doing? According to Matthew’s account of John the Baptist’s preaching he said that we should repent and produce fruit as a result of our repentance - that is, that we should face ourselves, name the conflict going on inside us, turn toward Jesus, let the Holy Spirit work inside us to control the beast, the battle, and get on with sharing the good news with others by living it - by walking the walk of faith. What we should be doing is getting to know the reality of Jesus Christ in our hearts as well as our minds, growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ, and then being about the task of sowing on his behalf - serving him with all that we have and are - walking the walk and talking the talk. We should prepare for Christ’s coming by repenting and bearing fruit consistent with our repentance.

For many of us, repentance is a word we’d rather not hear. For some of us it’s an unfamiliar word - it’s a word that was used in another period of history - when mourner’s benches and sawdust trails and tent meetings and confessionals were in vogue. For others of us, repentance is only something we have to do when we get caught - like when we get caught with our hand in the cookie jar after we’ve been told not to eat any cookies or if we’ve been caught having an affair or illegally recruiting or cheating on our taxes.

But, biblically, repentance is much more than saying “I’m sorry” when we’ve been caught doing something society says we shouldn’t. John the Baptist put a whole new twist on what is involved when repentance is put to use in one’s life when he said, “Repent, for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Later, he further said, “Produce fruit in keeping with repentance.” Basically, he was saying that repentance is about preparing one’s self for the coming One - the Savior. Repentance isn’t only about changing one’s mind or feeling sorry for doing something wrong. It’s not only about resolving never to do such and such wrong act again. Repentance, according to the trail mix of locusts and wild honey eating John the Baptist, means turning ourselves toward the One, toward Jesus Christ, who has come and is coming again. Repentance is not about getting all loaded down with guilt but rather it’s about turning ourselves in Christ’s direction - it’s about turning our eyes toward him and walking/following in His steps.

And the signs of repentance are the bearing of fruits - the doing things that exemplify Christ’s living in us and through us. A woman went to the prayer chapel of her church every day. About the same time every morning she could be seen kneeling and praying. After a period of prayer she would leave the church and go to a nearby food pantry and load up her car with boxes of food for people she knew were in need. No big deal as far as she was concerned. Bearing fruit for her was as natural as eating. Repentance that turns toward Jesus Christ doesn’t lead to self-centeredness, it leads to love and service. (4)

In the book of Luke’s version of John the Baptist’s river appearance, tax collectors and soldiers went to Jesus to be baptized and asked what they should do. And he told the tax collectors that they shouldn’t collect any taxes other than those rightfully theirs and he told the soldiers that they shouldn’t level false accusations or rob others. What he was basically saying was that we should do whatever it is ours to do in life to the best of our ability, ethically and honestly. Bearing fruit is done by walking the walk as well as talking the talk - it’s about serving with all we are and all that we have.

A lay person in a church once said, “If we’re not careful, John the Baptizer will take all of the fun out of Christmas.” I think he’s wrong. I think if we turn our lives toward Jesus Christ, if we repent, and become fruit producers consistent with our repentance, then we will experience even greater joy in our hearts and in the community of faith. Repentance is the real way to prepare for Christmas. Walking the walk toward Jesus and with Jesus is the way to true joy and peace and hope during this season and throughout the year. (5)

Peace be with you all as you journey through Advent toward Christmas!
 
1 Homiletics, December 2001, pg. 52-53.
2 God’s Christmas Greeting, Robert A. Beringer, esermons.com.
3 Ibid.
4 2001 Christian Globe Network, Repentance, esermons.com.
5 Repent Your Way to a Merry Christmas, Brett Blair, esermons.com.





Monday, December 9, 2013

SERMON: "It's Storming!" "Peace Be With You!"

"It's Storming! Peace Be With You!"
Mark 4:35-41

(A Sunday School class my pastor and others are leading this Advent season utilized the story in Mark about Jesus sleeping his way across a sea. The purpose of the class is to consider an alternative/more reflective and peaceful observance of this season. Someone mentioned remembering a sermon I shared about this text and that maybe I might want to share it with my blog community. OK, here goes. Peace be with you this Advent season!)

It was a very busy day in the life of Jesus according to the way the author of Mark records things. It was the Sabbath and Jesus began it like he began every Sabbath - in the synagogue - in a place of worship.

Some who were there were hoping to catch him do something illegal - oh, you know, like heal someone which was considered work and thus not allowed on the Sabbath. A man with a shriveled hand was there and Jesus had him stand front and center. Then he quizzed the crowd about what was the right thing to do - obey the law or do mercy. The crowd was deafeningly silent. He did the merciful thing despite his knowledge of the religious establishment's concern about his ministry and rumors that they desired to get rid of him.

He did a few other things that day:

* Like, going up a mountain with some of his followers and naming twelve of them his apostles;

*  Like, stopping at a home to get a bite to eat but being interrupted by the crowd; and some of his biological family arriving because they feared he'd gone crazy. That vignette ended with his offering this new, radical, yet significant definition of the Christian faith - that those who do the will of God are his relatives;

*  Like, his going back to the lake and getting into a small boat with this mass of people assembled along the edge and his telling an assortment of parables - short stories with life lessons - about seeds and different kinds of soil and putting a lamp under a bowl and finally one about the growth of the Kingdom of God being like that of a mustard seed.

Now, with all of these happenings of that day in Jesus' life swirling around in our heads - we turn our attention to the story in the text we are considering.

Jesus and his followers were still in the boat when evening came. Mark implies that the one-day boat marathon lecture came to a rather abrupt end by not mentioning any dismissal, benediction, or blessing - just this announcement on the part of Jesus: "Let's go over to the other side." Or, as one writer imagines it: "Let's get outta' here!"

Although the author of Mark doesn't offer us any explanation for the midnight cruise to the other side of the lake, some Bible scholars suggest it was probably because Jesus was just plain whipped from all the pushing and shoving and pulling that accompanies a crowd trying to get as close as possible to a celebrity. Others have made a case for this being an example of Jesus' desire/intent/plan, to broaden the focus of his ministry from just a perceived renewal movement within Judaism to a more inclusive message for all people, everywhere, and thus the trip over to the Gentile side of the Lake of Galilee.

If the desire was to get away from the crowd, the cruise was a colossal failure. The author of Mark reports that a flotilla of boats accompanied the boat Jesus was on. And, sometime during the night, a sudden storm developed with very large waves crashing over the boat threatening to capsize it. Sudden and violent storms are a common occurrence on the Lake of Galilee - has something to do with the way the hills and cliffs are situated around the lake and cool currents of air gathering between them and coming together with such force that the sea can sometimes be whipped into this ferocious water hazard.

While the storm was having its way with the boat-load of fishermen, Jesus was asleep on a cushion in an area reserved for passengers. The disciples woke him from his peaceful and needed sleep and asked him a rather stupid question, "Teacher, don't you care if we drown?"

Jesus rebuked the wind, ordered the waves to quiet down and everything got calm - everything except Jesus that is. Staring into the fearful, soggy, and salt-streaked faces of his followers, Jesus asked them: "Why? Why did you wake me? Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith?" There's no question in my mind that his words stung - perhaps disappointment or criticism were conveyed. The disciples hardly ever come off looking good in the Gospels. They are forever not getting it right - misunderstanding.

The story ends with this terrified group of disciples asking themselves and one another: "Who is this guy that even the wind and the waves obey him!?"

OK, here goes: I'd like to suggest to you that the primary message of this story is not that Jesus has the power to perform miracles as many want it to be. Jesus didn't calm the wind and the sea to win more followers - to show off his powers - to make life easier or safer for his followers. In fact, until the disciples rudely awoke him he had no intention of doing anything about the storm except to sleep through it. Even though he did it, he wasn't happy about doing it because it meant that their relationship with him had not yet born in them the faith that God was with them no matter what happened to them, and because, I would suggest, it revealed that they had no or very little faith in their personal abilities to do what needed to be done.

Picture the scene again: There were a bunch of seasoned, professional fishermen on that boat that night! They'd been in a lot of storms before that one, thank you very much! What's going on here?

I would suggest this story reveals a misconception that continues in our day - that somehow having Jesus in one's life makes us dependent, skill-less, ignorant, insecure people! Friends, Jesus Christ heals us of our feelings of inferiority, our self-doubts, our lack of confidence and instills in us new attitudes about ourselves and our gifts from God - he strengthens/broadens our gifts, strengths, abilities, skills - not weakens or takes them away! Being born again means having our giftedness, our uniqueness enhanced, not discounted!

The message of this story is not that when troubles come our way all we need to do is turn them over to Jesus and let him work a miracle. It is not to make a case for the idea that we don't have to put up with what every other human being has to put up with. We live in a sinful, imperfect world, as well as a creative and beautiful one - it always has been and always will be - and we are in for some rough times as residents of this world: that's just the way it is. The storm - the weather system - didn't change just because Jesus was on board. Knowing Jesus Christ is not a vaccination from the painful realities that accompany life.

We too, will receive telephone calls in the middle of the night informing us that a loved one has been in a serious automobile accident - marriages will fall apart in our churches because of the unfaithfulness of husbands or wives - hurtful words will be shouted between parents and children in our families - we too, will be diagnosed with terminal illnesses - we too, will unexpectedly lose jobs and be ignored when it's time for a promotion - we too, will struggle and fail classes in school - we too, will be anxious about our financial situations - we too, will lose friends.

Perhaps the most important thing this lesson should implant in us is that even though we have to face the storms of life like everyone else, peace can be known/experienced while it's storming all around us. A peaceful voyage is not the ticket we purchase when we say yes to Jesus, but the journey can be peace-filled when we remember that God is on the journey with us.

The purpose of this story is not to get us to look at the storms of our lives and seek Jesus' healing touch so that they'll go away - that expectation upset Jesus, caused Jesus to question the very faith of those who thought that's what he should do. The purpose of the story is to invite us to look at the one who is willing to walk through the storms with us and to have faith that he will and does and that together we can endure whatever life sends our way. And, we experience the physical presence of Jesus when we let the community of faith that is his present reality walk with us.  That, my friends, is our experience and we are so thankful for your willingness to be Jesus for us.

The invitation to Christian discipleship I would invite us to consider is to take a careful look at what's going on in our lives and to ask ourselves if we need to "put our hands in the hands of the man from Galilee" in a new way - a way that unleashes the potential within us and gives us confidence that we can use the gifts and skills God has given us to meet the issues the world needs us to.

Yeh, it's storming all around us alright. But that's OK, God is with us. "Peace be with you."

Saturday, December 7, 2013

Sermon: "Open Means Being Hospitable"

Sermon: "Open Means Being Hospitable"
Matthew 3:1-12     Isaiah 1:1-10

I received a story in an e-mail from someone a few years ago with which I would like to start this reflection.

It’s a story about two brothers living on adjoining farms. An issue developed between them one day which grew into a really nasty rift. Bitter words and weeks of silence resulted. It was the first serious disagreement between them while farming side-by-side. They shared machinery, helped each other with chores and even shared seeds with one another.

There was a knock on the older brother's door one morning a few weeks after the silence started. He opened the door to find a man with a carpenter’s toolbox. The visitor said, “I’m looking for a few days of work. Perhaps you have a few small jobs here or there that I could help with? Is there some way I could help you?”

The older brother responded: “As a matter of fact, yes, I do have a job for you. If you look across that creek, you’ll see a farm. That’s my neighbor. In fact, it’s my younger brother! Last week, there was a meadow between us. He recently took his bulldozer to the river levee, and now there is a creek between us.

“He may have done this to spite me, but I’m going to do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence - an 8’ fence so I won’t need to see his place, or his face, anymore.”

The carpenter said, “I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails, and the post-hole digger, and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all day – measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset, when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished the job.

The farmer’s eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence. Instead, there was a bridge . . . a bridge that stretched from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, with handrails, and everything!!

And then the older brother noticed his younger brother coming toward them with his hand outstretched. And the younger brother said as he approached his older brother, “You are really something, building this bridge, after all I’ve said and done.”

The two brothers met in the middle of the bridge and embraced. They turned around just in time to see the carpenter hoisting his toolbox onto his shoulder.

The older brother said, “No, wait!  Stay a few days. I’ve a lot of other projects for you.”

The carpenter said, “I’d love to stay on, but I have many more bridges to build.”

Diana Butler Bass shares in her book Broken We Kneel about the 8:30 a.m. service at the Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D. C. It's planned with the homeless in mind. It’s not unusual during the worship service to have one of the 200 worshipers talking rather loudly to an invisible friend. It’s more than likely that several men will be asleep on the back pews. There will be some who will be standing and singing. It’s “an amazing cross section of humanity for a church,” writes Butler Bass, “unruly, disorderly and utterly hospitable. And holy.” She writes in her book about being told by one of the church members who started coming there when she herself was homeless, “Epiphany is the first church I ever visited that treated me like a human being. Nobody looked at me as if I was going to steal something.” (1)

A pastor was interviewing with the call committee of a church (obviously not a United Methodist Church). The stories the people told made the pastor aware that the church was made up of a lot of different kinds of people – rich and poor, young and old, persons from a wide range of different denominational backgrounds. There were people in the membership who came from some really troubled families and people there with currently troubled families. And yet they obviously got along remarkably well.

The pastor finally asked the committee how they’d been able to assimilate such a variety of people into their fellowship. One of the elders responded: “We just have to love one another. We’re all God’s children.”

It was then that the pastor remembered the logo on the church stationary and understood what it meant. The logo read: “Where hope and hospitality embrace you in the name of Jesus.”

A rowdy, dirty group of homeless men went one year to a church’s annual Christmas dinner. The church’s dinners were family affairs – people off the street, parishioners’ parents and siblings, theater folk who had nowhere to go on holidays – always a weird and wonderful mix. But, everybody didn’t necessarily always get along. One year a group of men managed to annoy somebody’s mother from the suburbs.

The church had a director of music who was quick on his feet. As he sensed tensions rising, he slid his small body behind the piano in the downstairs parish hall and began to boom out the opening lines to “Jingle Bell Rock.” He had an amazing sense of the pastoral ministry of music. By the time they got around to the chorus in “Angels We Have Heard on High,” the homeless guy and the suburban mother, both of whom it turned out had great voices, were standing next to each other harmonizing.

Glimpses of God’s kingdom – glimpses of Isaiah’s vision of God’s kingdom – that’s what these stories describe.

Thundering down through the centuries we have heard another voice every year on this 2nd Sunday of Advent.  His voice always rather loudly commands: “REPENT!” As far as that locust and wild-honey eating, rummage-sale dressed character, John the Baptist, was concerned, the way to get ready for the coming of the Messiah – the establishing of God’s kingdom – the fulfillment of Isaiah’s vision – the way those who would be a part of the kingdom should act is to eat a little, maybe a whole lot of, humble pie. It involves taking stock of our lives and admitting our human condition – our human frailties – our bad thoughts and our questionable behaviors. It involves us being remorseful – feeling sorry for having done or thought things that create a chasm between us and God or others.

John also makes it quite clear that the repentance he believes is necessary involves a whole lot more than simply feeling sorry for doing wrong. John noted that there must be some “bearing fruit worthy of repentance” (vs. 8).
I would suggest to you that when we "bear fruit worthy of repentance" we catch a glimpse of the kingdom of God Isaiah so beautifully and poetically described in the text - glimpses of wolves living with lambs and leopards lying down with goats and cows feeding with bears - when we see homeless people and church people enjoying dinner together and singing together. We catch glimpses of infants playing near to the entrance to snake’s dens without any fear when those considered outsiders are offered the gift of hospitality – when the rich and poor – the young and the old – persons from every theological angle possible, all ready to experience the natural feelings of hostility, experience instead hospitality.

We catch glimpses of Isaiah’s vision of God’s kingdom when the church bears fruit worthy of repentance – when our mottos aren’t just a cleverly arranged bunch of words read once in awhile or used to take up some space on the front of a bulletin, but words which capture the essence of a church's life together. That church with the logo “Where hope and hospitality embrace you” glorified God by welcoming one another. They were a glimpse of Isaiah’s vision of what God’s kingdom is like. The church is called to be a glimpse of God’s kingdom – a place where and a people who provide hope – a welcoming, hospitable, bridge-building place and people.

That e-mail I received a few years ago ended with a few one-liners that offer some additional ideas about some things we might want to keep in mind when contemplating what some other fruits worthy of repentance might be.

* God won’t ask you what kind of car you drove, but God will ask how many people you helped get where they needed to go.
* God won’t ask the square footage of your house, but God will ask you how many people you welcomed into your home.
* God won’t ask about the clothes you had in your closet, but God will ask how many you helped to clothe.
* God won’t ask how many friends you had, but God will ask how many people to whom you were a friend.
* God won’t ask in what neighborhood you lived, but God will ask how you treated your neighbors.
* God won’t ask about the color of your skin, but God will ask about the content of your character.

The fruit worthy of repentance for each of us and for a church is hospitality. People need to belong – need to be warmly received – need to be greeted no matter who they are – need to be accepted – need to be loved.


1. “The InnoCentive SOULution,” Homiletics, November/December, 2004, p. 40.

Friday, December 6, 2013

Not a Sermon: "Entering Advent - The Season of Preparation - Lamenting""

Not a Sermon: "Entering Advent - The Season of Preparation - Lamenting"

We attended our third Central & Southern Ohio ALS Association Chapter Holiday Party this week. It's been, and once again was, a good event for us. We enjoy, er, a, maybe appreciate the opportunity, would be a better way to describe what our being with others dealing with this frustrating disease means to us.

ALS friends and our caregivers and other family members gather to share food, fellowship, and participate in a fun gift-exchange. It's both a comfortable and uncomfortable evening as we eat together with all our various limitations and abilities. We laugh as we share gifts and once in awhile steal a particularly pleasing one to our unique personalities. The PALS of our Columbus area support group and their relatives and friends are a new and special social community.

I had a different sort of night the day before this uplifting gathering - they happen every so often, although the thoughts that trigger them are always in my mind and on my heart. I suppose it was partially the result of all the family gatherings of the previous few days, but that doesn't explain it entirely. I'm not sure there really is an explanation for being down a bit. All I know is, I was overwhelmed with thoughts about what the future holds, what I'm going through, what Dorothy and my kids and the rest of our families are trying admirably to face, how one lives and how one dies while daily and hourly struggling for air but can still eat anything as long as the bipap machine is available for when I'm finished, a being invaded with the feeling of hopelessness, etc. - you get the picture.

It's over. I'm OK. Each day holds its own joys and challenges. Relax. We cried as I shared what I was feeling with Dorothy, and we recovered. So, here's what you're going to have to put up with for awhile. I've decided to preach - write - my way back to an even better place - back to sensing some realistic hope while alive and not for some afterlife relief concept (sorry, probably a little strong for some!).

Advent, Christmas Eve and the Christmas season were some of my favorite times - and I have resolved to make them so again this year! Sure part of it was the staff gatherings, Dorothy's decorating the house (our home is as beautiful as ever because of her!), family gatherings, shopping (yes, I did enjoy shopping especially for Dorothy), concerts, school programs, the sharing of Christmas and holiday cards (get over it people we piggybacked on a secular season and not the other way around!), caroling, remembering, and all the other seasonal events. But another big part for me was the wrestling with the scripture passages full of mystery/magic/myth and attempt to make the whole thing believable or at least practical and helpful.

That's right, I'm going to preach to myself for the next few weeks and you have to/get to read/avoid/contemplate/argue with/endure what I post! I may post a few other things because I'm having some Ottawa moments, etc. as well, so you may have to check out the site once in awhile just in case.

Happy holidays! Merry Christmas! Seasons Greetings!