Living the Light – Many Blessings, Sermon Feb 17, 2019 by Rev Gloria

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Sermon, February 17, 2019

Living in the Light – Many Blessings

Luke 6:17-26

“Blessed are you who weep now, for you will laugh.” I want to talk to Jesus and say, that sounds great, but when I weep, I don’t see laughter as helpful to hear at that moment. Perhaps I am in a space where I truly wonder when I will laugh again?” Today, we are promised that weeping and sorrow are healed with laughter.

Jesus’ “Sermon on the Plain” begins the same way as the Gospel of Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount, by painting a picture of a world turned upside down. Remember, at the start of his ministry, when he read from Isaiah in his hometown synagogue, Jesus promised that the poor would receive good news, the captives would be released, and that the blind would see. That crowd turned pretty-ugly that day attempting to push Jesus over the cliff. But here on the plain, this is a different day and a different crowd. The great multitude gathered around him are exactly the kind of people Jesus came to proclaim favored by God. And here is Jesus, not high on some mountain talking down to them, as he does in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew, but he is right there among them; in-the-midst of their pain and suffering, promising laughter.

As a matter of fact, he might even be below them. The one detail in this passage that has always intrigued me is that even as he is busy healing the crowd’s diseases, Jesus literally must “look up” to see his disciples before he can teach. Are they somehow above him, for Jesus had to come down? Have they removed themselves from the seething mass of suffering? Is this why Jesus must make sure that the disciples really take notice of these poor, sad, discarded folk? “Don’t you realize these are the blessed of God,” he seems to say, “This is where we should focus our attention because it is these people who have God’s attention. God sees them even when no one else does.”

To be blessed, after all, is to know that you have God’s attention. To know that wherever you go, you will not be alone. To be blessed is to know that you are valued and important simply because God has made you priceless. And suddenly the separation between the disciples and the crowd is removed. Everyone is connected because the only possession anyone really has is the blessing of God.

In Luke, Jesus is also clear that wealth and privilege are real dangers that have the power to separate one from God and from the human community. Jesus spells out the “woes” of which the comfortable and wealthy better beware. The kingdom of God belongs to those who have nothing except God. There seems to be two categories here, the blessed and the woeful.  The warning is this; when we sit with wealth and comfort and priviledge, we might ignore our brokenness.

After all, we are all broken. Some of us have lost health or lost relationships or lost jobs. Our brokenness is personal, it’s unique, it’s truly ours, it’s no one else’s. And yet it connects us with one another because we are all broken in some way. But when Jesus says blessed are those who weep, he’s pointing out that this sadness is also a sign of something deeper, that all of us mourn because the world is so far from God’s purposes. Instead of separating us into some kind of hierarchy of need, we are brought closer in our shared weeping over this world; thus we are all blessed.

We look around, we see injustice, we see exploitation, we see violence, and the faithful cannot help but mourn. I think that includes all of us, no matter our economic status, our gender, or our ethnic background, we are all mourning. We hear of borders closed and walls being built and we know, we know this is not how God works. We hear of Hispanic and Islamic brothers and sisters living in fear, and we mourn. We listen to spiteful words coming to us from all sides, and we wonder from where is our comfort to come?

Well, here’s the good news. Blessed are those who weep. God hears you. God knows you. God comes close to you. And God will not let you go. We all deserve to weep, we are all blessed. We are not alone. How would we look at our neighbors if we saw them as both broken and blessed? Would we see our brother or sister more than a nuisance, not a threat? Would we hear Jesus say, “Come, you are blessed!. Join me here on the plain.”

There’s a wonderful little video that I came across years ago that I keep thinking about. It begins with a businessman going about his usual day, except the day isn’t going very well. It seems as each minute passes, the day gets worse and his frustration level rises. He starts to pull out of the driveway, and almost runs over a child on a bike. He gets to his favorite coffee outlet, but a woman steals his parking place. The man in front of him in line places an order for his entire office building. When he finally gets to the counter, he’s told that it will be a few minutes because they need to brew a fresh batch of coffee.

Sitting in a corner, seething in frustration, a man walks up and hands him a pair of sunglasses and then disappears. Confused, he puts the glasses on and all of sudden little bubbles, like in the comic strips, appear above everyone’s head. Instead of dialog however, he can read what is really going on in everyone’s life.

The woman who cut him off is distracted because her child is sick. The man who placed the huge coffee order is worried about a medical diagnosis he just received. The server in the coffee shop is struggling with addiction. And finally, returning home a bit shaken, he sees the child again with a bubble above his head which says, “Just need someone who cares.”

The man gets out of his car and walks over to help the boy fix his bike.  How would we treat each other if we could really see what was in everyone’s bubble? I believe that all the walls and all the distance we place between ourselves and others would disappear.

After all, we worship a God who was not content to look down upon us from some safe haven, light years away. We follow a savior who gets down, right down on the same plain with those in the deepest pain, with those who have nothing left.

He looks up, at us, his disciples, and invites us to join him there. He reminds us that this is where God is looking. And by the way, we are not so different. We are broken, too. We yearn for a world turned upside down.  And we all are blessed.  Amen.

 

 

Living the Light-Becoming a Follower of Christ, Sermon Feb. 10, 2019 by Rev G. Christian

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Sermon, Feb. 10, 2019

Luke 5:1-11 – Living in the Light – Becoming a Follower of Christ

Jesus Calls His First Disciples

5 One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. 2 He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets. 3 He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat.

4 When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.”

5 Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.”

6 When they had done so, they caught such a large number of fish that their nets began to break. 7 So they signaled their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

8 When Simon Peter saw this, he fell at Jesus’ knees and said, “Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man!” 9 For he and all his companions were astonished at the catch of fish they had taken, 10 and so were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, Simon’s partners.

Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.

Hear what the Spirit is saying to the Church.

May God bless us with understanding of these words.

 

Living in the Light – Becoming a Follower of Christ

We have heard the word for us today.  The call of Simon to be a disciple of Jesus and this word beacons us to be disciples too.  Jesus, commandeering Simon’s boat, instructs him to put down his net.  The results are astonishing.  But Simon’s first reaction is ‘Go away from me, Lord; I am a sinful man’. In our life despite our feelings of unworthiness, we are to place our trust in God who calls us is to be astonished by the results.  So, where are we being called to put down our nets?  On this annual meeting Sunday perhaps new visions for ‘fish catching’ will come forward.

Simon Peter gets a glimpse of the power and knowledge of Christ, falls before him in the profound grip of his own sinfulness, but even so, Peter is called by Christ to become a fisher of men.  Peter’s sin does not disqualify him from discipleship because the same power that caused him to fall on his knees, now lifts him up into Jesus’ service.  That is the power of forgiveness that allows a person to live in the light; an epiphany moment.  Here is another epiphany story.  Simon’s call comes from Jesus’ ministry in Nazareth, an exorcism in the synagogue in Capernaum, healing Simon’s mother-in-law, many healing and exorcisms in Capernaum, preaching tours and such a growing popularity that the crowds were pressing in on him.  All, of these happenings speak to Jesus calling disciples. Jesus’ own success made helpers necessary.  The disciples Jesus calls are responding to his power to which they have witnessed.  ‘Catching men’ really means to take alive, in the sense of rescuing from death; sin was surely thought to end in death in biblical days.  Surely Peter never erased from his memory the day he knelt in a smelly fishing boat at the feet of Jesus.

Does it strike you that we just heard a 2,000- year- old story?  2000 years being told and re-told and here we are today, sophisticated, savvy, relatively well-off, still hearing and resonating with this old story from the mid-east.  What is the attraction?  Well the answer is basically, when you come right down to it, this story tells us why we are Christians.  Christians kneel-down before Christ for forgiveness and for love.  This story reveals why Jesus captured the people who first heard him and why he captures us today.  This story is where Christianity began.   Jesus has time for us, and he has time for affirmations for us.  Most importantly, Jesus ignores the nay-sayers.  This reading reminds us of a deep truth. Too often we feel that in order to be a good Christian we have to try hard and believe this or that, whether we, in fact, actually do believe this or that, that we first have to straighten out our life and get it together and feel this or that in our hearts, in order to be good enough to become a  follower of Christ.

But listen again to the story: Then Jesus said to Simon, “Don’t be afraid; from now on you will fish for people.” 11 So they pulled their boats up on shore, left everything and followed him.  In other words, forget about the past, with me you have a clean slate.  We learn that we are followers of Jesus, because he is so open and accepting, so ready to have mercy upon us.  We are important to Jesus even if we are unimportant to the world, no matter how small or minor a figure in society, how overlooked or unpopular – no matter how different we are, we are always noticed and loved with compassion by Jesus.

Here is an inspirational story of a mother who was asked if she loved her children equally.  The mother’s answer was stunning: “I loved them. I loved each one of them but not equally all the time.  I loved the one the most that was down until he was up.  I loved the one the most that was weak until she was strong.  I loved the one the most that was hurt until he was healed. I loved the one the most that was lost until she was found.”  Sounds to me that her love is like what we know of Jesus and why we are followers of Christ living in the light. May it be so in your life as in mine.  Amen.

 

Living in the Light – As One Body, Jan 27, 2019 Sermon by Rev G. Christian

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Sermon, Jan 27, 2019

1 Corinthians 12: 12-31a – Members of the Body

Luke 4: 14-21 – Jesus in the synagogue at Nazareth

“Living in the light – As One Body”

Come into the garden of God, for there you will find peace.  Come into the garden of God, for there you will find rest.  Come into the garden of God, for there you will find hope.  And we come as one body with many members just as a garden is one body of creation with many flowers.  We come from our busy lives, to join in this time of quiet.  We come into the garden seeking God’s presence and we pray for wholeness of mind, body and spirit.

Many people work very hard to create gardens around their homes and in their communities. A garden is a wonderful place of flowers and greenery; a place where butterflies float among the roses and soft breezes carry the delicate scent of lilacs.  The song of birds and the lazy drone of insects is music in the garden and belong as members of the garden.  Bubbling water in a fountain adds life and sparkle.

This gentle peaceful scene is one that beckons us in many ways.  In our complex world we might long for a beautiful refuge where life seems simple and serene.  We carry in our hearts and minds the ideal of a life that is less stressful and not filled with so many pressures.  We might feel that if only we could live in a garden all would be well.  There we could be patient and kind; we could forgive our enemies and we could make life worth living.  So, I ask if this might be why be seek sanctuary right here from the stresses of daily living knowing in our heart acceptance as the body is one and has many members, and all the members of the body, though many are one body.

It would be easier if we lived in a gentle world, but we live in a world that is neither gentle nor tranquil.  Sometimes there is little peace or harmony. And so we come into the garden of God, for here you will find hope…..

 

I wonder what it means for you to feel you really belong that you are part of something.  When Paul was writing to the new Christian community in Corinth, he writes to a fragmented group that was struggling for a sense of identity and had problems with division.  There were members of the community who did not feel like they belonged whilst others claimed a stronger sense of belonging and so deliberately excluded others.  In many ways this behaviour reflects the nature of many community groups and even churches today.  All gatherings would do well to live out this scripture as a community of faith.  We gather as an inclusive community where the foot is as important as the eye; the hand as important as the ear; we all belong; are included.

This invitation to all of us, to invite everyone to the party is a challenge because of different denominational beliefs and people living in a consumer culture.  Paul was encouraging the Corinthians to see beyond their ethnic bias and welcome all. (Jews or Greeks, slaves or free).  You, belong, you and you and them, belong – we are the body of Christ.  We can borrow the words of Jesus and say, “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in our hearing.”

As we continue to explore the garden and look deeper into its shadows, we can see, along with the comfort and ease, the other side of the picture. In the midst, of the garden is a snake.  One of the many meanings the snake has is to remind us of the struggle of life and the temptations that are ever with us.  There is evil, pain, and discord in our garden-world and struggles come to each of us in various forms.  Children become ill, life gives us life-changing punches; there are glorious hills and dark valleys.  The thorns and thistles in our garden beds come to us slyly.  We cannot give up when pricked by the thorns of life but must have hope to try to change things.  Each one of us can make a difference in how another, responds to the pricks of life.  Our garden, our church needs to be a place where we walk in harmony with God and with each other as we seek peace in our lives.  We need to gather with others who are struggling to keep our garden a place of beauty and wholeness.  God is our gardener.  If we keep our eyes and our hopes on the good gifts of the garden, we will be at home there, and to be at home in the garden is to be at one with God.

I am reading a book called “The Language of Flowers” written by Vanessa Diffenbaugh.  She has inspired this message on gardens and flowers, inclusion and exclusion, and just maybe a bit of spring fever also.  The book is set in Victorian time. The language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions in the Victorian era.  But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating mistrust and solitude.  After an isolated childhood spent in the foster-care system, her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.  Now eighteen and emancipated from the system with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them.  But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger has her questioning what’s been missing in her life.  And when she is forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it is worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.

Victoria literally lives in a garden where she steals and transplants flowers in a wooden portion of a park where she lives after leaving a group home, demeaned unfit for adoption and reaching the age of 18.  As I read on, I want to discover how an excluded child could become an included, gifted adult.  Exclusion is a terrible disease in lots of ways.  I have felt it and perhaps you have also.  Whether it is living in a garden like Victoria or being a member of a community of faith, inclusion is paramount for peace and hope and for love to thrive, for each of us.  Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could make our garden world green again and replace the thorns and thistles with flowers and fruit?  May this be our prayer so all might live in the light.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Living in the Light-Spiritual Gifts”, Jan 20, 2019 Sermon by Rev G. Christian

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Sermon, Jan. 20, 2019

“Living in the Light – Spiritual Gifts”

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 – Spiritual Gifts

John 2: 1-11 – The Wedding at Cana

Living in the Light is like being bathed with the light of God upon our soul. This bathing light warms us with spiritual gifts: some are given the ability to say just the right thing to some-one who is in need of healing or support; some know just what to give with just the right understanding to the receiver, of the gift; some are wise in understanding; some are filled with faith and hope and we receive harmony and peace; some are given hands to heal and grace shines forth; some are so intuitive that they can spot in an instant how things will work out; some are visionaries in the church; some can work miracles with very little with which to work; some understand in an instant what God wants for them; others can hear what a person is trying to say not what they have said.  All these gifts working together bring forth a party of gifts beyond description.

Almost everybody I know likes a good party and church folks are no exception.  Think about your average potluck. We groan with joy as the beloved recipes have been prepared with love and care.  No calories or ingredients are spared and there is a wonderful variety, always. In fact, with pot lucks, one gets a sense of the variety of spiritual gifts and of wedding party of Cana.  The scripture readings for this Sunday are an invitation to come to God’s party and bring our spiritual gifts with us.    The ultimate party gift this week is Jesus’ inaugural public miracle of changing water into some mighty fine wine.

Living in the light is like children running to open their gifts Christmas morning.

We, the faithful, should have some anticipation and excitement to unwrap our spiritual gifts from our gift-giving God. These spiritual gifts are not given to benefit us but are given to be offered to all of us in this community of faith.  Not one gift offered is better than another offered.  All gifts are equal in the eyes of God.  All gifts are given to carry out the work of the church.  If one is exceptional in one area of church life, then they should be given that ministry.  For example, if one is gifted in finances, one should be given the treasurers job and for example, I am not gifted in arithmetic or finances so don’t ask me to be treasurer.  Just as there are many and diverse gifts, there are many ministries in a church life.

I hear a question in Mary’s voice as she points out to her son, Jesus, that the wedding guests have run out of wine.  I hear a question that I carry within myself, a question familiar to many of us:  Will I have enough?  Are we running out?  Are we rich enough? Safe enough?  Will we go over the budget?  Can we put dinner on the table and keep the wolf from the door?  All the questions and especially Mary’s voice, is a question of scarcity and Jesus answers as he always does with abundance.  Jesus who shows us God is the one who shows us true abundance.

Abundance. How much is enough?   This is the crucial question as we make our way in the world and in our faith.  The question of abundance can be an economic question or a faith question.  Now our faithful response ought to be about quality not quantity; that living in the light can not be measured by mere numbers but by how our world looks today.

It is God’s intention I believe, as we see in the life of Jesus, the one who turned

water into wine, the one who sat down to table with all the wrong people; it is God’s intention that all life should flourish all should receive the spiritual gifts of God.  Our task is to tend to this flourishing in our world so we and all might live in the light.  Such light will come in its own time and differently to us all.  Firstly, we must recognize our identity as a child of God.  To live in the light is to live in that part of ourselves where we have an attitude of listening, of awareness of our journey and to have an openness to the mystery of life.  A faithful life is filled with mystery.  Can we be open to listening to the mystery of how God can change our lives?  How we can fear less and hope more; complain less and breathe in the spirit more; love more, support more, know our own hearts more.  The mystery is in the silent light of truth, the goodness of God that gives us the certainty that we are loved to the end and are not forgotten.  The mystery of how God is always with us can be seen in others as their light shines.

By the way, this is the meaning of church:   to enter here, to enter worship with others and communion with Jesus who loves us so that we ourselves become one of the smallest lights that he has lit, and we carry this light into our homes and community.  If you can not see that light; don’t worry; look for it in your friends, in the work of the Thrift Shop.  I saw it in the eyes of the aboriginal woman who received the tote bag of toiletries at the Women’s Shelter that I took for you last week.  That light warmed me with a feeling of gratitude for your work here.

Our spirit must be open to the invitation to see the light of life.  We acquire it at a time that is right for us.  This light is a light that doesn’t glow for us to look at, like Christmas lights but a light that brightens our spirit and warms our heart.  As we use our spiritual gifts and discover them in ourselves and others, living in the light is like being bathed with the light of God upon our soul with new discoveries. This bathing light warms us with spiritual gifts: some are given the ability to say just the right thing to some-one who is in need of healing or support; some know just what to give with just the right understanding to the receiver, of the gift; some are wise in understanding; some are filled with faith and hope and we receive harmony and peace; some are given hands to heal and grace shines forth; some are so intuitive that they can spot in an instant how things will work out; some are visionaries for our future church; some can work miracles with very little with which to work; some understand in an instant what God wants for them; others can hear what a person is trying to say not what they have said.  This is our community of faith, learning and growing together.  Amen.

 

 

 

 

“Living in the Light begins with Living Water” Sermon January 13, 2019 by Rev G. Christian

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Sermon, January 13, 2019

Luke 3:15-17; 21-22

Acts 8:14-17

“Living in the Light begins with Living Water”

To live in the light of Christ is our calling in this season of Epiphany.  Baptized with living water is our first-gift from God that leads us in a life towards a path of discovery of many God-given gifts.  Activating the gifts of the Spirit is through understanding how our gifts are inter-related to the gifts of others here.  We are called to stay true to the heart of our God-given gift; the love of God in Jesus.  Each Sunday through Epiphany we will explore the gifts of the Spirit; the first being living water that gives us a start on our faith journey.  For most of us, our faith journey started at our baptism.

Sometimes we need a reminder that baptism is an epiphany kind of moment; a manifestation of Christ in our lives.  Epiphanies are not subtle.  Yes, we can look for God in all kinds of people and places, but sometimes God comes crashing through the clouds and stops us dead in our tracks.  So, this is where the heavens opening really matters for me; it is when there is an inability of God to be separated from whom God loves, you and I, whether we like it or not.  You see, I have this inability of being able to stop going to church; I cannot not worship our God. My baptism was at the age of 14 years old, so I remember my baptism/confirmation as a time of unmerited love of God for me.  The very words of God’s desire to make us God’s children is saying God chooses to be in Christ, in our lives.

Adult baptism is also confirmation in our church; it is a boundary crossing, a risk, bringing God close to us.  The living water of baptism is about promise; the promise of God’s love and forgiveness.  The season of Epiphany brings us closer to the fact that God will be present in our suffering and joys; our death and new life; our pain and our healing.  This season also brings us closer to the fact that God will also be seen in the rejection and suffering, death and denial, pain and injustice of Jesus passion. We, all, need awesome moments in our lives, moments of gratitude, moments of re-discovery of who God really is, moments when we look to the heavens and see the heavens being opened and every-thing changes.

Let us go for a moment to the banks of the River Jordan where Jesus is being baptized.  Here he makes his first public appearance and begins his ministry.  John the Baptist has prepared the people for a Messiah who would baptize with the Holy Spirit. And here he is, Jesus, going under the water and coming up out of the water.  Suddenly, heaven opens, the Spirit descends like a dove, a voice comes from heaven and speaks to Jesus so all can hear; You are my Son, the Beloved, with you I am well-pleased.  What an awesome moment for all who witnessed this event.

This reading from Luke begins with a crackle and buzz, “As the people were filled with expectation, and all were questioning…” It’s a fluid situation that Luke presents here – Jesus’ baptism amongst an energized and wondering people. There is expectation about John which he quickly redirects to Jesus. What is important here is the mindset of the people who witness the baptism – their hopes and expectation. John’s explanation is equally vibrant with the Spirit, the winnowing, the gathering, and the chaff burned in the fire. All of this surrounds the national quest for the Messiah – what will this Messiah be? Who will be this Messiah? John brings the question down to earth, down to sandals and threshing floors, down to the ordinary.

Luke’s baptism happens in a flash, almost a sidelight in this buzzing scene of expectation. What the people are seeking, Jesus also seeks. However, what the people are hoping for will be radically changed by this Jesus who comes to the Jordan. Here in Luke the vision is shared with the people, the Spirit descends in bodily form, and the voice is heard. Is the creation story here as well? That possibility broadens Luke’s rendition of the Baptism of Jesus. All are involved, all are witnesses.  A creation is upon them.

January is an exciting time. It is the beginning of a brand-new year. Some people like to make New Year’s resolutions or promises to themselves about what they plan to accomplish in the new year. The number one resolution that people make is, “I am going to lose weight.” I don’t think too many people succeed, since it seems to be the number one resolution year after year. I know that it usually makes my top ten list of things I would like to accomplish in the new year.  Even if you don’t make any New Year’s resolutions, this is an exciting time. It is a time that we can forget our past mistakes and look forward to new opportunities that lie ahead of us. It is a time of new beginnings.

Jesus experienced times of new beginnings in his life too. One of those times was when he was baptized. Up until that time, he had not performed any miracles, but with God’s stamp of approval and with the spirit of God upon him, Jesus began to perform great miracles. From this new beginning, many people began to understand that Jesus was truly the Son of God and they began to follow him.  New beginnings — God gives us opportunities for new beginnings. Let us make the most of them as we live a new life in Christ through the power of his Holy Spirit and Living Water.

Here is a story to sum up what I am trying to say: it’s called the “Goat’s Hair Monk”.  First, I must tell you, the Goat’s Hair Monk wasn’t a monk and he didn’t wear a goat’s hair monk’s robe like John the Baptist.  He was just one of the poor street people who roam the shabby streets of any decaying inner city.  He got his name because he walked around muttering, “Goat’s Hair, Goat’s Hair”.   The monk part came from his visits to an old church several times a day.

He was not your typical pan-handler with his hand out for charity, instead his hand was out giving things away to the poor. Reaching into his old, battered canvas bag he carried everywhere he went, he would pull out a pair of socks for a street-walker who had none, a pair of gloves for a disoriented bum whose hands were blue from cold, or a couple of sandwiches for a hungry old bag lady.  With each gift he would mumble in his German accent, Goat’s Hair, goat’s hair.  The Goat’s Hair Monk was living in the light.

A local street gang was convinced this monk was a millionaire with loads of money in his bag.  One day when he was sitting in this old church, a beggar was given his cloak.  Then praying, the street gang member snuck up and was confident he was sleeping and with hands out went to grab his bag.  With a karate-like blow the monk grabbed the street kids arm and with a voice of thunder, yelled, God’s here. Wise up kid! Rob others and you yourself will be robbed of what’s precious to you.  As the kid ran out of the church, he realized that the old man hadn’t been saying “Goat’s Hair” but “God’s Here”.  The street kid began to realize that after his attack from a rival street gang that the comment, God’s here, filled his empty life and he became baptized and when the old man went into the church to pray, he went with him and soon became his body guard helping the poor on the streets.  This little story sums up what living in the light can be.  The Light of the world manifest in any of us who care.  To live in the light of Christ is our calling in this season of Epiphany.  Baptized with living water is a first-gift from God that leads us in a life towards a path of discovery of many God-given gifts.  Our renewed self from the Living water, in this New Year gives us an opportunity to do something awesome this year.  Amen.

 

“Shimmering Hope“ by Rev G. Christian January 6, 2019

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Isaiah 60:1-6

Matthew 2: 1-12

“Shimmering Hope”

It happened, of course, not in a good and happy time, but in Herod’s time, a time of great injustice, and great suffering. Brutal King Herod, after all, was that most dangerous kind of powerful person: an insecure and fearful one, eaten up with worry about maintaining his power and his place and his comfort, and his advantage was his privilege. Protecting his privilege can demand a lot of energy, especially since Herod wasn’t a real king; he was just a puppet of the Empire, the hated and oppressive Roman Empire.

Just imagine, then, how thrilled this pretend king must have been on that day when a little band of “wise men from the East” showed up at his palace, with their camels parked out front, loaded down with treasure…and they asked him – asked him, the king! – for directions to the “real” King of the Jews!  That comment would have upset his imaginary power.

It’s a good thing that, along with nature and common sense, the Magi also have Scripture; the Isaiah reading, and just like us, they need all of these (nature, common sense, scripture) in their search for God. And, like us, they need a community in which to interpret these things. God would also provide direction through a dream (just as Joseph was guided by a dream), but it’s no accident and not insignificant that they’re helped by Scripture, when they ask for directions from Herod and hear from the religious authorities who know just the right place to look for the answer.

There are many ways that we “find our way” to God, to the little baby born King of Kings: nature does indeed point to the glory of God, the care of God, the presence of God, but we need the Bible, too, and personal experience, and our community that helps us understand all those gifts. Then, like the Magi, we’re drawn to worship the One we seek.

So, what do we hear in this nativity story? We hear that God has sent a gentle shepherd who will nevertheless upset the powers-that-have-been. We hear that the smallest things, like a newborn baby, can terrify the arrogant, and bring them down in the end. We learn that God’s reach of grace goes far beyond every obstacle within or without, and pushes us beyond them, too.  We learn that a great light has dawned, a light that draws all people and calls us to live our lives illuminated by its truth. That’s what the Epiphany season, the season of light, is about: we hear the beautiful words, the promises in the text from Isaiah, about a light breaking forth for all of us who know what it feels like to “sit in darkness.” To sit in darkness could be a time of grief or a child’s illness, employment lost or health impaired and we hear the call to arise and become radiant with the light of God. To sit in the darkness could be a time of grief, or a child’s illness, or employment lost, or health impaired.

The Isaiah 60 reading speaks of light and glory and rising-up from wherever we have been pressed or pushed down, rising up to behold the glory that comes to us. It is the light of God that breaks through the thick darkness, and it will appear over us.  Whether Isaiah speaks of rising from darkness to the light or Matthew speaks of the wise men bringing gifts, we see and hear the great invitation that would go out, in the end, to everyone, making them (and us) disciples, too.

How do we observe these seasons (Advent, Christmas, Epiphany) every year, year after year, and still find that place within us that is capable of being overwhelmed by joy? How is God still speaking to us, year after year, in every season, calling us to this joy, this remembering, this new vision?  We each one of us has our own journey and all journeys tell a story of faith.

But not every journey toward the Christ starts like the magi’s in darkness, but there might come a time when, in the empty hours of an otherwise unremarkable night,
you have happened to look up at the usual sky, and noticed, almost by accident, between passages of gray beasts of slow-moving cloud the bright bloom of a strange star flowering, and something begins to open a little somewhere beneath your skin,
as if that new wedge of light in the sky had inserted itself into your soul, not enough to cause you any hurt, but just enough that you feel a pang, the twinge of something like longing, as if your eyes in the silence have become ears in the darkness, and you are hearing a holy summons, distant but ringing like a silver trumpet in the chambers of your listening heart, and you gaze at that star where it stands in the sky dropping dust on the night horizon, and you think it might be signalling a holy Presence in the world
and a road you can take to meet it, and that such a road, lit with such promise, might lead to a great adventure, where life becomes challenged and changed and as new as the sky above a better world.  And so, you pack, and you leave on this journey, this journey where Christ is not only waiting but walking your road at your side, and you follow that light as it closes the distance, as it reaches deep within you, touching gifts
you carry in your hand.

The divine light that shines in the Child is not a foreign light to the earth. It is the Light at the heart of all life. It is the Light from which all things come. If somehow this Light were extracted from the universe, everything would cease to exist. So, this is a story about the Light at the heart of everything, the Light at the heart of you, the Light at the heart of me.  Look around you now at the people next to you, at the life forms growing from the earth, at the radiance of the sun or the whiteness of the moon. And look also into your own heart. There in all things is the Light. Maybe it is deeply hidden. But it is there, waiting to come forth anew. In the Christ Child this Light shines. He is our epiphany, our showing. In him we see the Light of life; in him we have shimmering hope.  Amen.

 

4th Sunday of Advent – December 23, 2018, “Blessed are we who Believe” by Rev G. Christian

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Advent IV, December 23, 2018

Luke 1:39-56

“Blessed are we who Believe”

In the New Testament, there are these two equally obscure women, Elizabeth and Mary—one quite old and barren, the other little more than a child around thirteen—who are both nobodies and both chosen by God to bear great children. “He has looked with favor on the lowliness of his servant.”

And Mary is “betrothed” to this other little kid named Joseph, who is just as unknown and obscure as she is. And when he finds out that she’s pregnant, he plans to cut and run, but an angel comes to him and says, “whoa, stop, the baby in Mary is not yours,” and he says, well, um, I kind-a knew that part,” and the angel says, “no, no, what I mean is that the baby came from the Holy Spirit (a.k.a., “God”). The little guy in Mary’s womb is the son of God, so go on back to her now and play like you’re the daddy because that’s what God wants you to do,” and to give Joseph credit, the story says he does that.

When Mary hears from an angel that she is to give birth to a child, what she does is run away. Quite possibly she ran for her life, because there is some historical evidence that when unmarried women were found to be pregnant; they were stoned to death. She runs to Judah to another obscure town to talk to her cousin, Elizabeth, about the whole mysterious and strange occurrence. Elizabeth is evidently pretty-old and had been barren for good many years and thought she’d never have a baby of her own. But as it happens now, she’s gotten pregnant herself with a little baby she’ll name John who, as it turns out, will later baptize a gaggle of people (including Jesus), threaten the state, and get himself killed for it, but that’s getting ahead of the story.

When Mary gets there and the two of them greet each other, John jumps up and down in Elizabeth’s belly and Mary breaks into song (don’t we mothers always jump up and down and break into song), with this incredible magnificent; a song both and political and radical, about what her coming son is going to be doing in this messed up world.

52   He has brought down the powerful from their thrones,

and lifted-up the lowly;

53   he has filled the hungry with good things,

and sent the rich away empty.

This is an ancient love story that warms our hearts again this Advent Sunday of love. Blessed are

we who believe…in love.

 

Remember the story of Susan Boyle who looked and dressed plain and dumpy and was way passed her prime; a nobody some thought, but she had a voice that angels would be jealous of. Simon Cowl, the host of the show who introduced her sneered at her in the beginning, but then later publicly apologized for his behavior.  Susan became Canada’s singing sensation.  Canadians love her music; our Love story; blessed are we who believe…in love.

 

We often overlook the most important things in life. And the Christmas Season encourages us to do that. The season encourages us to put everything we’ve got into busy preparation so that the true meaning of Christmas gets lost. If we don’t keep our eyes open during the hustle and bustle of Advent, then we might miss a true love story such as Shane and Dave found. However, my Christmas love story.  My love story was the reunion of Dave and Shane and it was magic.  Blessed are we who believe…in love.

This busyness forces us to look the other way. It does that in two ways:

First, the commercialization of the Christmas season works very hard to keep us from realizing that there really is supposed to be something important going on inside this season. We get a lot from the media about how this is a season of caring or giving, but very little about what that is… the rebirth of a gentle babe in Bethlehem.

Second, the Hustle and bustle of Christmas. We get so tied up in the many tasks of Christmas, that we might forget to experience Christmas.

 

Did you hear about the woman a couple of years ago –true story—who forgot to do her cards until the last minute and rushed out to buy three boxes of cards and brought them home and filled them all out and addressed them and sent them off and when she got home she was exhausted and she relaxed in her chair with a glass of wine and listened to music, and she picked up one of her cards and said, that’s nice, I’ll actually get a chance to read what I sent to people, so she picked up the first one and it said: “Just a little card to say…a special gift is on its way.”  I laughed as you might be that she made a horrible mistake.  She might have thought oh no, but if you think about it…a special gift is on its way in the name of Emmanuel.  God with us.

I once got so stressed out in shopping at the last minute that when I had finished the day (rushing from store to store, beating back other purchasers, and fighting for elevators and escalators in Ontario malls), and had gone out to my car, I put my presents on top of the car and drove away and left them behind…(Perhaps it’s because “God looks out after preachers and fools” but someone I knew saw what happened and called me later to tell me he had my gifts.)  Ever done that or almost done that?  That was when I made a conscious decision to put Christ back into Christmas and divorce myself from the hustle and bustle of Christmas.  I have stream-lined and simplified my gift giving with special gifts not abundant gifts.  My love story for Jesus…

Sometimes a little child will lead us to “know” the important parts of the season. There is a story of the parents who were in a big rush to get Christmas all done up, and they told the kids that under no uncertain terms were they to get out of bed until daybreak on Christmas morning. Then they snuck around and placed baseball bats, and bicycles, etc. under the tree, and went to bed. About four in the morning their little, seven-year old rushed into their room saying “Mommie, I saw it. Quick come quick.” The parents grumbled but got up, deciding that the surprise was ruined, so they might as well get all the kids up so that some could see their toys since one had already done so. So, they hustled all the others up and brought them down stairs. But the little boy ran right passed the tree and went over to a window and said, “see, see, there it is in the east. It’s the star. I saw it.”  Blessed are we who believe.  Amen.

 

Luke 1:39-45, the gospel reading for the 4th Sunday in Advent in the Year of Luke, continues the extended story of John the Baptist which we have in this gospel, albeit now with another character added – Mary.  It is striking that the long opening chapter of Luke’s gospel (80 verses) is almost entirely devoted to the pre-birth, birth, and introduction of John the Baptist.  It is easy to overlook the fact that of these 80 verses, nearly 60 of them have to do with John, and most of the rest of them have to do with Mary, and only a few have to do with Jesus.  This year of Luke, then, gives us a rare chance to explore this story in depth, and ponder why John’s story was deemed so important by this gospel writer.

(The following questions are designed to unearth some of the key issues for Law/Gospel preachers.  For a further look at this type of preaching you are invited to purchase my guide to Law/Gospel preaching by clicking the image of the book on this page.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word here functions as pure gospel.  It is a scene of great joy.  This visitation, and the announcement that God’s divine favor has been visited upon God’s people is a scene of hilarious joy.  The people of God are no longer forgotten, no longer in exile (as it were), no longer sitting in anticipation of the Lord’s coming, but the Word of the Lord has been fulfilled.

2. How is the the indications of joy in the text hint at the oppression under which these women have been living, but nothing in the text points directly at their own need of a saving Christ.  Mary’s song of praise in the verses that follow this text (46-55) point out the context of these women and their fellow citizens – “lowly”, “hungry”, living under “the powerful” and “the proud.”

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  Elizabeth, the one who says, “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” is the one to whom the Word comes.  She is the one with whom we can most easily identify, not Mary.  We too stand agape as the Christ is sent to us to proclaim freedom, to forgive, and to bless.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to light of the announcement that Christ has come for us, will have to come from different texts.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by the text?  We need to take our cue from Mary’s song to answer this:  lowly/raised up, hungry/filled with good things, oppressed/delivered, forgotten/remembered.

6.  Exegetical work:  It is especially important in this text to read the verses that precede this account.  In earlier verses we see that John was said to be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth.   when Mary calls out her greeting to Elizabeth, the unborn John gives witness to the Christ’s presence even before his mother does. And then, as if John had passed on the Spirit to his mother, Elizabeth cries out in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women!”  It is telling to note that the redundancy present in the Greek text gives voice to the excitement of Elizabeth, when it says, literally, “She cried out loudly with a great shout.”  The joy present was deafening!  It is also worth noting that Gabriel’s appearance to Mary was only days before this visitation.  Luther surmises that the Christ was only 4 days in the womb when Mary reached Elizabeth’s home!  Clearly it was not Mary’s outward appearance that signaled the presence of the Christ, and even less her identity as “the mother of my Lord.”  The presence of the Christ could only be signaled by the Holy Spirit.  It is perhaps worth pondering the question, “What signals for us the presence of the Christ amongst us?”

Blessings on your proclamation!Luke 1:39-45, the gospel reading for the 4th Sunday in Advent in the Year of Luke, continues the extended story of John the Baptist which we have in this gospel, albeit now with another character added – Mary.  It is striking that the long opening chapter of Luke’s gospel (80 verses) is almost entirely devoted to the pre-birth, birth, and introduction of John the Baptist.  It is easy to overlook the fact that of these 80 verses, nearly 60 of them have to do with John, and most of the rest of them have to do with Mary, and only a few have to do with Jesus.  This year of Luke, then, gives us a rare chance to explore this story in depth, and ponder why John’s story was deemed so important by this gospel writer.

(The following questions are designed to unearth some of the key issues for Law/Gospel preachers.  For a further look at this type of preaching you are invited to purchase my guide to Law/Gospel preaching by clicking the image of the book on this page.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word here functions as pure gospel.  It is a scene of great joy.  This visitation, and the announcement that God’s divine favor has been visited upon God’s people is a scene of hilarious joy.  The people of God are no longer forgotten, no longer in exile (as it were), no longer sitting in anticipation of the Lord’s coming, but the Word of the Lord has been fulfilled.

2. How is the Word not functioning in the text?  There is no word of Law here at all.  There is no word that lifts up the need of humanity for the saving action of God.  All of the indications of joy in the text hint at the oppression under which these women have been living, but nothing in the text points directly at their own need of a saving Christ.  Mary’s song of praise in the verses that follow this text (46-55) point out the context of these women and their fellow citizens – “lowly”, “hungry”, living under “the powerful” and “the proud.”

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  Elizabeth, the one who says, “And why has this happened to me, that the mother of my Lord comes to me?” is the one to whom the Word comes.  She is the one with whom we can most easily identify, not Mary.  We too stand agape as the Christ is sent to us to proclaim freedom, to forgive, and to bless.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  The call to obedience, the Word that says, “Follow Jesus” is not present here.  That word, which gives us guidance on how to live in light of the announcement that Christ has come for us, will have to come from different texts.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by the text?  We need to take our cue from Mary’s song to answer this:  lowly/raised up, hungry/filled with good things, oppressed/delivered, forgotten/remembered.

6.  Exegetical work:  It is especially important in this text to read the verses that precede this account.  In earlier verses we see that John was said to be filled with the Holy Spirit even before his birth.  And so when Mary calls out her greeting to Elizabeth, the unborn John gives witness to the Christ’s presence even before his mother does. And then, as if John had passed on the Spirit to his mother, Elizabeth cries out in a loud voice, “Blessed are you among women!”  It is telling to note that the redundancy present in the Greek text gives voice to the excitement of Elizabeth, when it says, literally, “She cried out loudly with a great shout.”  The joy present was deafening!  It is also worth noting that Gabriel’s appearance to Mary was only days before this visitation.  Luther surmises that the Christ was only 4 days in the womb when Mary reached Elizabeth’s home!  Clearly it was not Mary’s outward appearance that signaled the presence of the Christ, and even less her identity as “the mother of my Lord.”  The presence of the Christ could only be signaled by the Holy Spirit.  It is perhaps worth pondering the question, “What signals for us the presence of the Christ amongst us?”

Blessings on your proclamation!

3rd Sunday of Advent, “Heaven is Singing” -December 16, 2018 – Rev Gloria Chrsitian

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3rd Sunday of Advent  –  “Heaven is Singing”

Isaiah 12: 2-6       Philippians 4: 4-7

December 16, 2018

Well, with Christmas nearly here, there is probably not one among us whose thoughts don’t stray towards Bethlehem with wonder in our thoughts. Do you want to go to Bethlehem? Well, getting there hasn’t always been easy.

Back in 1996 when I was on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land, getting to Bethlehem required disembarking our tour bus at an armored check point outside the town, having our passports taken, then walking a full block under the watchful eye of heavily armed Israeli soldiers. Only after successfully navigating this pulse-quickening walk could we board a Palestinian bus to finally take us into Bethlehem. Our tour bus still had to stop at a checkpoint before entering the city, but then instead of requiring passengers to get off, armed soldiers got on. They walked up and down the aisles with intimidation. After a few anxiety-producing minutes, when the all clear was given, we could drive to the other side of the checkpoint, change buses, and enter Bethlehem.

We simply drove to a kiosk where our bus driver spoke to a guard for a few moments. Then we were waved on, with the greatest discomfort was the speed bump that lies at the gate of the twenty-five- foot cement wall which now sadly separates Israel from the West Bank. And that is how you get to Bethlehem these days, at least physically.

But let me hasten to say, that if getting to Bethlehem physically seems a bit challenging, it is nothing compared to the difficulty of getting to Bethlehem spiritually. At least that is what John the Baptist would have us understand and what the church has been reminding us of for as long as the lectionary has existed, because at Advent there is no getting to the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem without first naming God as your salvation.

It is like saying I will trust and not be afraid or joy comes from knowing that God will show me the way.  Salvation is like singing to God for God has done glorious things in my life.  So I will sing and let it be known throughout the world.

 

So what counts as thoroughgoing salvation; that is, a forgiveness from mistakes and the consequences of them and singing to heaven because one has been saved from the disaster of the decision?

  • For me, salvation has come when I knew the right path to follow in my life having sometimes wishing for the adventure of the wrong path. I could have gone one way or another way, but God helped me to follow the right path even after I had made mistakes.
  • Salvation comes when we do right by our family and friends who become family to us confident in God’s promised blessings of joy.
  • Salvation comes when we admit our wrongs and pray with thanksgiving for forgiveness, presenting your request to God.
  • Salvation is knowing you are dearly beloved child of God with the gifts of the spirit at your disposal. The greatest of these gifts is love.

Well, I can tell you what it’s not! Undoubtedly along the way I have heard of many demonstrations of half-hearted repentance, the kind that we are capable of. Maybe we, like the folks of the biblical day, tell ourselves our half-hearted repentance for wrong-doing is adequate if we simply feel a little badly about what we have done or left undone. It’s not a mark of full repentance. Or maybe we think, like the folks of John’s day, that our half-hearted repentance for wrongdoing is adequate because of our identity as decent church folks who are part of the Christian family. Maybe we think that identity gives us extra credit points and ought to protect us.  Maybe, trying to depend on one’s heritage or privilege doesn’t demonstrate full repentance.

Let’s face it, our tender feelings aren’t enough. And our pedigree as children of God isn’t enough, either. What matters is what we do, and how we live.

A number of years ago, Norman Cousins wrote an editorial in which he reported a conversation he had on a trip to India. He talked at length with a Hindu priest named Satis Prasad. The man said he wanted to come to our country to work as a missionary among the North American people. Cousins assumed that he meant that he wanted to convert us to the Hindu religion. But when asked, Satis Prasad said, “Oh no, I would like to convert them to the Christian religion. Christianity cannot survive in the abstract. It needs not membership, but believers. Not people who talk about their faith but live their faith. The people of your country may claim they believe in Christianity; but from what I read at this distance, Christianity is more a custom than anything else. I would ask that you either accept the teachings of Jesus in your everyday life and in your affairs as a nation or stop invoking God’s name as sanction for everything you do. I want to help save Christianity for the Christian.”  I suppose one could say this but not here.  You folks live your faith as you go into the community with your mission dollars.

 

Some in the crowd asked, “What then should we do?” “Share with one another. If you have two coats give one to someone who has none. If you have more food than you need give some away to someone who is hungry.” In other words, demonstrating being humble in one’s life will involve generosity. Be generous.

But the tax collectors in the crowd were apparently still not clear and they shouted, “Teacher, what should we do?” Now, the tax collectors in John’s day paid the Roman overlords for the privilege of collecting tolls and tariffs and customs fees. Then they extorted as much money as possible from the populace to recoup their initial outlay and make a profit.  “Collect no more than the amount prescribed.” In other words, a demonstration of salvation will be absolute honesty and dependability.

“Be satisfied with your wages.” In other words, a demonstration of salvation will be an end of grasping greediness and the false contentment.

Generosity, integrity, contentment: signs of a life that has undergone thoroughgoing salvation…proof that faith is more than talk. No easy outs, no short cuts, no excuses.

Paul in his letter to the Philippians was never shy about asking his listeners to do something great. Not for some personal entitlement, but in order to accept the peace of God which transcends all understanding that will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

And have no doubt the Messiah is definitely on the way. We might be awed by the majesty and mystery of the One coming. We might not be worthy to untie the thongs of the Messiah’s sandals.  Presumably we are becoming prepared for Jesus’ birth anew and for the sake of readiness for the Messiah’s coming maybe we are ready to step into the presence of greatness, the greatness found in Bethlehem, without the self-consciousness of any misdeeds and wrong-doings clinging to us. Let the past go, I say, be rid of it, be sorry for it, lay it down. Take up new lives, worthy of the one whose presence you seek.

And that my friends, that is the identity you want on your passport when you make for that gate to Bethlehem and ask it to open for you.

As we journey to Bethlehem in this season, we pray the gates may open wide for us and for the many others who wish to love and welcome God’s Son and stream into his presence singing to the heavens: Rejoice in God always, I will say it again. Rejoice! Amen.

 

 

Advent II, December 9 – Rev Gloria Christian

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Sermon for Advent II  –  “Walking in the Wilderness”

Luke 3:2-6

Luke 1: 26-33

It seems to be a long walk in the wilderness from the days of John preparing a way for the Lord; a long walk in the wilderness from Isaiah’s prophecy when crooked roads will be made straight to the birth of Jesus foretold.  It is like having to cross over to the other side before we can see the beauty of the birth and behold the Prince of Peace.

I remember a trip to Vancouver with friends when we visited Stanley Park and I stood transfixed as I approached the bridge that would carry me to the other side; to this magnificent wilderness of forest.  To really appreciate the redwood forest, one had to make this journey.  So the only thing standing between me and this adventure was the rope bridge with wooden slats.

I really didn’t think much about it until I started across and happened to look down, and by the middle, realized that the bridge had begun to sway with the movement of my fellow travelers.

That’s when I grabbed the ropes on the side as if they could save my life when the whole thing broke through and plunged to the rocks below. I silently counted the number of slats between me and the view. There were about 20 of them, which was just enough to keep my conviction of a dramatic death alive.

The problem was that the people behind me were coming. Actually, they were waiting for me. I felt their presence just over my shoulder. Even though I was too afraid to turn around and look, I knew they were there. And there was only one direction to go–forward.  Forward to the peace and tranquility of the forest.

And forward we go throughout the biblical stories until the 6th month of Elizabeth’s pregnancy with John who prepares the way for Jesus coming.  Those biblical characters from Isaiah to John’s wilderness walks; he walked through war upon war until their prince of peace is born.

Maybe it’s the dark nights in Advent that makes us take seriously all these barriers that stand in the way of peace flowing to all people. Our cries for the coming of Jesus come from our deep awareness that there is still so much that seems to stand in the way of peace, so many barriers that seem to stretch out before us. Sometimes all we can do is count them, one by one, while we stand stuck in life, unsure how to take the next step forward.

There is the Middle East. ISIS is so brutal that we can hardly describe them to our children, their rampage so bloody that even the stories scar us.

There is the atomic bomb that to this day has devastating affects on the people of Japan.

There’s our changing climate. We watch lakes dry up in some places and torrential rains fall in others.

There is much more…

Clearly, Luke understands this darkness. Yet his desire was not to lead his listeners into despair reminding them that they are clinging to the bridge for dear life, ready to crash to the rocks below, but to announce to them that not one of our barriers could keep the Word of God from coming.

“The Word of God came to John, son of Zechariah, in the wilderness” to a tiny, faithful family, on the edge of the empire, in the wilderness, there is nothing less than the Word of God, the breath of life, the presence of the Creator. I’m not sure if Luke means this to sound like a creation story or our own story, but I suspect he wants us to know that God’s power is stirring. It is just over our shoulder, pressing us forward into a new future with the light of God shining on our path.

On this day in December, I don’t know if we’re clinging to the bridge but I do know that we have struck a match to light one more candle on the Advent wreath, and the power of that light is changing everything. Even our shadows take on a new beauty when caught by the light. It is making a way in the wilderness, making the crooked straight, and the rough places smooth, and turning the road toward Bethlehem.

To most in the world, it might not seem like much; but to us, we see in this tiny flicker of light the glory of the rising sun, the Word of God, the presence of the Spirit, coming to us in real time, in our historical time. We see the view of a future set before us that is filled with forgiveness and peace and reconciliation and love. Frankly, we see the best picture we’ll ever take.

And it turns out, we don’t have to hold on for dear life, because the life of the coming one is already holding on to us. I know it’s two weeks before Christmas. I know there is so much that stands between this day and that Holy night. There will be shopping and decorating, stress and family, wrapping and baking, joy and sadness. There will even be shorter days than today. There will be Caesar Augustus and Quirinius; there will be a long and crooked road from Nazareth to Bethlehem.

But nothing can stop this birth. The child is coming, and we will be carried to the other side–to Bethlehem, to Easter, and to that moment when all flesh shall see the salvation of God.

Amen.

 

Why Now? Advent 1 Sermon Dec 2, 2018 – Rev Gloria Christian

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Luke 21:25-31

“Why Now?”

So, why now are we reading about end-times at the beginning of Advent.  The lectionary is very mysterious to me many times.  Where is the hope?  Oh, Advent is about waiting for Jesus to come; whether it be the second-coming or preparing our hearts for Jesus to rest there as we hustle and bustle about in preparation for Christmas.

If we are waiting for Jesus second-coming then what would be the signs: Jesus said, “There will be signs in the sun, the moon, and the stars, and on the earth distress among nations confused by the roaring of the sea and the waves. People will faint from fear and foreboding of what is coming upon the world, for the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see ‘the Son of Man coming in a cloud’ with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, stand up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.  I don’t know any other passage in the Gospels that is harder to understand, to feel our way into, to know how to respond to, than these words of Jesus about the Second Coming. He is speaking about the end of the world and about the coming of the Kingdom of God as the climactic last act of history, and he is speaking in words and images as foreign to our whole way of thinking as his subject itself. As the day approaches, there will be a great cosmic upheaval, he says, with signs in the sun and moon and stars, and the powers of the heavens themselves shaken. Is he speaking literally or simply poetically? Does he mean there will be real eclipses and strange comets that have never been seen before, maybe a reordering of the constellations themselves to scrawl some fateful starlit message across the night sky? Or is he speaking symbolically of some upheaval not of the world without but of the world within—an upheaval of the hearts and minds and spirits of the human race? The seas will go wild, he says, and at their roaring the nations will be terrified by whatever it is that is happening or about to happen, and then, most extraordinary of all—as the cause and climax of everything that has preceded it—the Son of Man will appear, he says, in a cloud, “with power and great glory.”

We have all read about these signs; for me I am not waiting for the apocalypse, end-times.  I am waiting for the re-birth of faith in the hearts of my family.  I am waiting for the secular world to become aware of a power greater than themselves.  I am waiting for our communities of faith to fill with God’s children.

I guess to make a difficult statement easier to understand he tells a parable: “Look at the fig tree and all the trees; as soon as they sprout leaves you can see for yourselves, so these signs will announce that summer is already near. So also, when you see these things taking place, you know that the kingdom of God is near.”

Where is the story of the babe Jesus, the shepherds and heavenly choirs?  Is it because the coming of the Lord includes much more than the Christmas story?  After all, the disciples asked the question, When and with what signs will these things take place? As surely as one can discern the approach of summer by the leafing of the fig tree, so these signs will announce that the kingdom of God is near.  I’m not waiting for the second coming of Christ; for biblical believers the second coming was imminent.  Over 2000 years later the end-time believers are still waiting.  Not I! I believe the kingdom of God came with the birth of a baby boy in Bethlehem.  I believe the kingdom of God is not some end time but right here and now. If not, why would people like Mother Teresa have walked with the ill to bring the kingdom of God in Calcutta.  Mother Teresa told a story about the time she came down with a terrible fever.  Her temperature rose; she became delirious.  She had a vision of being at the gates of heaven and telling St. Peter that she was ready to pass from this world to the next.  But St. Peter refused her entry into the high vault of heaven.  Mother Teresa asked why.  Peter replied:  “Because there are no slums in heaven.”  Waiting for the Christ Child is best spent working for the cause of Jeremiah’s righteous Branch.  That cause is justice and righteousness in the land.  St. Peter turned Mother Teresa back from heaven’s gate because there was work for her left on earth.  Her vocation was in the slums of earth not in the glory of heaven.

So, it is with us.  If Advent is anything, it is a season of painful waiting in the world and not detached from the world; a season of darkness before the light comes; a season about a future that is not yet.

Advent is about the coming of the Child of Mary. Our vocation as Christian disciples is to make Advent more about earth than heaven.  We must be like Peter at heaven’s gate:  We must remind ourselves that there is work, to do as we wait.  The best way to wait is to work for the kingdom–for justice and righteousness in the land.  That’s what Jeremiah did with his life and that’s what Mother Teresa did with her time on planet earth.

As we light the candles of Advent, we must acknowledge that we have some of the light but not, all, of the light.   God’s Church waits each year for the Lord -for we know in our hearts that with the coming of the Christ Child we have work to do, threats to meet and dreams to make real.  In Jesus of Crib and Cross, God comes to be with us and for us in the world where we taste and see.

We must travel lightly–with only our prayers, our pained hearts and our willing hands.  We must be alert at all times, and especially for the poor, with those with whom we differ and with the earth that is suffering and weary.  We must be praying daily to have the strength to stand now before the Son of Man, this Christ Child who will come and who is forever our Lord and Savior, yes, this Jesus, Child of Mary.  Amen.