This past week, Emma Green wrote a piece in The Atlantic titled A Christian Insurrection. It was about a small group of Christians who, for weeks leading up to the horrific insurrection on our democracy, had been gathering to march around the US Capitol building – fasting and praying for election integrity.
These events were part of the Jericho March; named after the biblical story where Joshua marched around Jericho blowing horns until the walls came down. These self-professed Christians believed the noise they were making was doing God’s work. But last Wednesday the world saw whose bidding they were really doing. On the Mall nearby, Green reported hearing a man yell “Shout if you love Jesus!” And the crowd cheered. Then the same man yelled again, “Shout if you love Trump!” The crowd cheered louder. Even after a police officer died defending the capitol from attack, many continue to believe the coup attempt was holy and justified. I have a severe problem with this. The Jesus I know from the gospels would not condone such behavior. The Jesus I know would have never weaponized people to wage a violent insurrection. The Jesus from the gospels did not fight even when he was being arrested or unjustly crucified. The Jesus I love said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” For that, God blessed him with a name above all others. Read Mark 1:1-11 There are two things are worth noting here at the very beginning of Mark’s gospel. First, the Holy Spirit of God is “a dove that descended from heaven.” And second, a voice from heaven declared, “You are my beloved. With you I am pleased.” After the September 11th terrorist attacks on our country, then President George Walker Bush famously said to the world, “You’re either with us, or against us.” Although this was tough, hawkish language meant to garner support from our allies, this “us versus them” mentality has set the stage for the bitterly divisive place we’re in today. Now Mark begins his gospel identifying Jesus – not with a war hawk, but with a dove, the symbol of peace. God’s shalom. This instantly sets Jesus apart from other human rulers whose reigns depend on violence and bloodshed to secure more power, not peace. The author will spend the rest of his gospel revealing what the Spirit of God’s peace means to us today. The Holy Spirit descended like a dove. A voice from heaven declared, “You are my beloved. With you I am pleased.” watch the message here. If Wednesday’s coup attempt taught us anything, it should be this: Thirst for power corrupts us. But a hunger for peace unites us. We need to stop dividing ourselves over our petty differences and be united by our commonality. As our great advancements in science have proven, all humans are 99.9% identical. This leaves .01% for all the tiny little differences – like thumb prints and taste in music. Paul Schoenfeld noticed, “Despite the vastness of our similarities and the breadth of our mutual desires and needs, it is easy to focus on our differences—in beliefs, life experience, aspirations, habits or personality. Today, there is so much emphasis on how we diverge. Whether they be political views, religious practices, or philosophy of life. These distinctions can have a way of creating the false view that there is an “us and them” that is everywhere. It can cause us to forget that we are one species.” The Jesus I know from the gospels never took a “me versus them” approach. It was always “me and them.” You see, Jesus was inclusive. He loved and welcomed all – including those who eventually killed him. If science is correct, that there’s merely .01% difference between you and me, that tells me we are also created like Jesus, who at his baptism The Holy Spirit descended like a dove. And a voice declared, “You are my beloved. With you I am pleased.” In seminary, I did a class project to get people to see Jesus in a new light. Using my advertising skills, I created a series of billboards designed to look like handwritten notes from Jesus. They said things like “Spiritual but not religious? I understand completely.” Or “Like giving blood for a good cause? Me too.” Each note was signed “Love Jesus.” And on each the tagline read, “You might have more in common with Jesus than you think.” Let’s think about our commonality. Jesus was birthed by a mother, and he relied on her to be fed, changed, and cared for. He had siblings who bothered him, and at least one weird relative named John the Baptist. He laughed, he cried, and he probably cussed when he stubbed his toe or spilled hot coffee on himself. We can debate the divinity of Jesus, but he was undisputedly fully human. Along the Jordan River, he was claimed and named by God. “You are my beloved. “With you I am pleased.” What does this say about who we are as humans? “These words revealed the true identity of Jesus as the beloved. Jesus truly heard that voice, and all of his thoughts, words, and actions came forth from his deep knowledge that he was infinitely loved by God” (Nouwen). Despite the rejection, jealousy and hatred Jesus faced, he continued to show love to all people no matter what tribe they were from or what little faith they had. Jesus was deeply inclusive. He welcomed all people to come and follow his way back to God’s righteousness. The way he lived his life “from that inner place of love,” teaches us how to be human – and to be claimed and named by God. Jesus set the bar by which we are all called to live – especially those baptized in his name. A bar that opposes violence, bigotry and hatred. A bar that turns the other cheek and sets aside one’s personal needs to care for others first. His way is the way of God’s love and righteousness. He is a living example of God’s peace and shalom. Thus, Jesus is the One in whom God is well pleased. He is the One inviting all of us to join him - anywhere and everywhere - to uphold and promote the Kingdom of God, not the fiefdom of some ungodly, power hungry person. But here’s the thing when we are divided into our camps, with hearts are hardened by anger and rage, this can be difficult to understand, making it nearly impossible to follow Jesus faithfully. To claim exclusive rights on Jesus as Richard Rohr points out, “might make it easier to worship him, but it makes it that much harder to imitate him.” Today, as you leave here to watch sports or engage with others on Facebook, I want you to remember this: We’re all made God’s image. Even those jerks you don’t like or the idiots who don’t like you. This is where claiming the name Christian becomes difficult, but not impossible, to do. For the last decade I have been seriously working on my ability to see Christ in the face of others. As I’ve stated on my blog, it’s my daily struggle to find the Divine in our midst. What I’ve learned along the way is, the more I try to focus on our commonality rather than our differences the easier it is to see the presence of God all around me. And we all have something in common, if only it’s the divine love that God has etched on every heart. I think Jesus was able to love, even the unlovable, because he understood this. He knew we are all created in God’s image, which means we all house God’s Spirit of peace within us. This is how Jesus approached all people. You might know that Buddhist often bow to one another, not out of respect for the person but to show respect for the divine within that person. Take a moment to imagine what our world could be like if we allowed God’s love in us to bow in respect to the love of God in others like Jesus did. The Spirit descended like a dove. A voice from heaven declared, “You are my beloved. With you I am pleased.” As Jesus’ life will reveal, we won’t get along with everyone. We won’t always like people’s post or agree on the way some people do things. But in order to stake our claim on Christ’s name, we have to continue his mission of peace and receive one another in love because we all are God’s beloved children. So, I’ll leave you with this to ask yourself: Am I living in a way that pleases God? Am I living into my baptism? Walking as Jesus walked? Loving as he loved? Am I caring for the least of these my brothers and sisters? God’s dramatic acknowledgment of Jesus makes it clear that through his words and deeds we’re encountering God’s intensions for all people. And those intensions, according to the prophet Micah, are to see that justice and fairness is done for your neighbor, to be merciful and compassionate, loyal in your love, and to get off your high horse and humbly walk with your God. (Micah 6:8) The words God spoke to Jesus in the wild rapids of the Jordan River are words spoken to us all. To paraphrase Henri Nouwen, “Once we accept the truth that we are God’s beloved children, loved unconditionally, then we can go into the world to speak and to act as Jesus did.” But when we hold on to rage and anger, and participate in divisiveness like we witnessed on Wednesday, it makes it harder for God’s love to penetrate our hearts. Harder, but not impossible. Like heaven at baptism, God is able to break through our hearts and gives us peace. If we can truly believe that God is speaking to us, calling us the beloved, then we can begin to see that it’s not our subtle .01% differences that make us standout. It's how we live out our similarities as one people in the name of the One who unites us in perfect peace and calls us all home to be with him. Let us pray: Loving God, you have made yourself known in Christ Jesus, and by his words and deeds we have learned what it means to be your beloved. Empower us with your Holy Spirit, to be peacemakers, for the glory of your name in which we have been named your beloved. Amen. Work Cited Green, Emma. A Christian Insurrection. The Atlantic. January 8, 2021 (accessed on January 8, 2021). Nouwen, Henri. Anchor Yourself In God’s Love from You Are the Beloved. (New York: Convergent, 2017) Rohr, Richard. Yes, And…Daily Meditations. (Cincinnati: Franciscan, 1997) p. 249 Rohr, Richard. The Universal Christ. (New York: Convergent, 2018) p. 23. Schoenfeld, Paul. We are more similar than different. everettclinic.com on July 26, 2017 (accessed on January 8, 2021).
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The Christmas Hallmark
Jeremiah 31:7-14 The late Ram Das spoke about a Rabbi who, after reading the holy scriptures, would instruct his students to place those words on their hearts. One day a student asked, “Rabbi why do say to put these words on my heart and not in it?” “Because” said the Rabbi, “only God can put things in your heart. We put them on our hearts so when God cracks us open, they will fall inside.” Last year did it’s best to crack us. For many it did more than that. So today we gather with the new year and with a new chance to fill those cracks with the goodness of the Lord who is renewing us from within; transforming our hearts and minds so that we might go and transform our world. You seen, the church is not a building full of people. It’s people building upon the love and a grace of God. And to do so by sharing it. Andrew Benson tells the story of a little girl building a sandcastle. It’s a palace fit for the princess who fills her imagination. Before she can complete it, a wave comes and crashes over her masterpiece. Instead crying or throwing a fit, the little girl picks up her bucket and begins again. He writes “We build something beautiful in our minds or with our hands, and we hope our work endures. Then the tide comes in and rolls over us. Trial after trial, set back after set back, we build and rebuild. It’s what we do. It’s what God does.” Last year, the waves came crashing down on us. But God was there, rebuilding us and making something new out of great love for us. It’s a story that is repeated time and time again in the bible. One of which we read about here, from the young prophet Jeremiah. READ JEREMIAH 31:7-14 What a perfect reading for a new year. It reminds us of why our faith is so important to how we move through life. Like I’ve always said, faith is less about getting into heaven when we die and more about living in heaven right now. Jeremiah gives us a great picture of what that living looks like – people gathered from every corner of the earth to shout praises and raise their glasses to toast God. There’s singing and dancing and celebrating the goodness of life. Today, in these last days of the Christmas season, churches around the world are celebrating Epiphany, when God revealed God’s self to the world. It’s often accompanied by the story of the Magi coming to visit Jesus. But today, I want to talk about the epiphany I had while binge watching Hallmark Christmas movies this past week. Now if you’re not familiar with this pop-sugar phenomenon here’s some things you need to know. There’s often a character with a Christmas name like Holly, Noel, Nick or Chris. In every story there’s a cynical person from the big city who for some reason has to go to a small town where they discover, or rediscover, the magic of Christmas. And fall in love with hot cocoa. No matter where this small town is located, it’s always within driving distance to Manhattan. And there’s always snow. Lots of snow. There’s also a certain mystique and mystery about Hallmark Christmas movies that draws you in and makes you want to watch more. It isn’t the predictable outcome, boy meets girl and falls in love. Nor is it the fact that everyone is obsessed with Christmas or that every square inch of their home or business has been professionally decorated by magical elves with an endless supply of ornaments. It’s more subtle than that. After watching three movies back to back, I began to notice that in every scene, people are smiling. And for some strange reason it makes me want to watch more Hallmark Christmas movies. I guess that the old saying is true - smiling is contagious. Sadly, this doesn’t happen enough in the real world. Not even at Disney, and that’s the happiest place on earth. The real world is full of cynicism, and real pain and deep suffering. These days it seems to lack that joy and goodness that makes us want to smile. But not in towns like Holiday Falls or Hope Junction. There everyone smiles. All the time. No matter how bleak or dire the situation becomes, they smile – faithfully believing that everything will turn out alright by Christmas. And you know what...it does. They smile because they have hope. The previous chapters in Jeremiah are dedicated to warning God’s people that a time will come when their world will come crashing down. In today’s reading, the prophet reminds them not to lose hope. Instead, keep smiling because God is always smiling upon you. But here’s the thing, you don’t have to live in a world where a cup of cocoa can solve all our problems, to produce a smile. You just need a small glimmer of hope. Long before that first Christmas Day, the incarnation was already unfolding. Jeremiah’s words remind us that God is always one step ahead of us, leading us to whence we came. We can have hope in God, knowing that what we’re dealing with today is preparing us for what is to come tomorrow. This should be good news for all of us who survived 2020. Christmas is our reminder that life is pregnant with hope, always giving birth to God’s grace and glory. Knowing that God has included us in that story ought to bring a smile to everyone’s face. Now another characteristic of every Hallmark Christmas movie is the fact that someone or something needs to be rescued – like the annual Christmas pageant or a small family business. But that rescue is usually the precursor to the main characters being redeemed from his or her past. For forty years Jeremiah warned the people that something bad was about to unfold. If they didn’t repent and return to God, then they too will fall like the many nations that had conquered them in the past. Eventually his prophecy would come true. And God’s people would be scattered and stuck in places they don’t want to be. As they were being humbled, all they had to hold onto was the hope of God’s promise that Jeremiah spoke about. This is what makes this passage important for us as we start the new year. There are places we find ourselves that we don’t want to be in. Dark places of addiction, anger, jealousy, or resentment. Places that steal our joy and cause us to lose hope in God’s word. Like these silly movies show us, we are all in need of being saved, if only from ourselves. We’re all in need of Christmas - God’s final word on salvation. In Christ, God came to save us from ourselves by showing us how to live rightly in God’s promise. It’s in this way of living, God transforms us to be who God created us to be - kind, loving, peacemakers seeking justice and equality for all people. In Hallmark Christmas Land, this transformation is obvious. With a renewed heart, the redeemed character always decides the big city life just isn’t where they belong anymore. So they buy the failing bookstore or crumbling hotel and start over. They give themselves a second chance at life. Hope and restoration. That is the hallmark of Christmas. This is exactly the Christmas gift God is offering you in Christ Jesus. This is the great Epiphany - that God came to be with us, to rescue us, by becoming one of us. On Christmas, God's grace became incarnate and transformed the world; restoring us and returning us to place where our hearts have always belonged - at home with God. This doesn’t mean we won’t have more days like we experienced in 2020. There will be suffering and sorrow, and hard times that will challenge us. But out of pain comes healing, out of darkness comes light. God’s mercy and grace that is given to us in Christ Jesus is just what we need to help us through difficult situations. Like Jeremiah points out when the hard times end, we will be closer to God than we were before. Which takes me to one last thing about Hallmark Christmas movies. This is the obvious one. Every movie ends with true love being found. Which makes total sense, because Christmas is the greatest love story ever told. Christ is proof of God’s unconditional, transformative love. A love that is real and everlasting, and always catches us off guard. It’s the kind of love that cracks our heart wide open and allows God to be where God wants to be the most. In you - singing, dancing, celebrating and of course sipping endless amounts of hot cocoa. As the new year begins, I hope that you will always remember that in Christ God has given us a chance to renew our faith and to place our hope in the great heart that leads us home for Christmas. Let us pray: Gracious Lord, in the complexities of life, you have revealed yourself to us in simple ways. As we leave here today, may we always see you and welcome you, in the faces of family, friends and strangers. With hearts cracked open, we invite you to make your home in us. And to place your peace so that we can share it with others for the glory of your name. Amen. After a long Advent season, and an even longer year, I’m glad to be here to share this quick message of hope and promise with you. 2020 has been a difficult journey, and heartbreaking for many. Yet, if you are watching this then you have made it just in time to celebrate the time-honored tradition of Christmas.
Because of COVID, most churches will gather in a new way to hear the old story of Jesus coming into the world; the light which breaks into the least likely of places. And with this light comes hope. This year we need to be reminded about the way the light comes in. We need to hear that darkness doesn’t have the final word. We need to see God’s grace made manifest for you and me to survive moments like this. So let us gather in our homes and around the world, to see God in a new light, in flesh like ours, and to hear the good news that we celebrate not just on Christmas Day, but hopefully every day after as well. Let us pray: O God, you have caused this holy night to shine with the brightness of the true Light: Grant that we, your children, may be refreshed and renewed by your Holy Spirit as we gather in bold new ways to have our hearts and hands open to receive the good news of your beloved son, who by his righteousness revealed to us your great mystery for all to see. Amen. Our reading tonight is taken from the second chapter of Luke’s gospel. It’s a familiar story read by a familiar face in our home. READ: Luke 2:1-21 This year has been a year of doing old things in new ways. Like going to work in our pajamas. Or withdrawing money from the bank while wearing a mask. If ever there was a time to take a new look on an old story this is the year. Tonight, instead of putting our focus on the stable at center stage, I want to turn our attention to the shepherds in the background. Those beloved scamps no one ever wants to play in the Christmas pageant. While everyone fights to be Mary, or an angel, or the coveted Inn Keeper, the role of shepherds is often filled last. It’s typically reserved for the kids who didn’t want to be in the pageant in the first place. They are nameless, non-descript. No single one is more important than the others. They just sit on the side of the stage waiting for the angels to come and bring them the good news. It’s a brief moment in the spotlight that typically comes right before the wisemen enter the scene pushing the shepherds into the background from which they came. I like to think of the shepherds as the quiet heroes of the Christmas story. In a year has been particularly noisy, full of things yelling to get attention, our hearts yearn for humble ones like these shepherds – quietly minding their own business in a dark field. Far from the chaos of everyday life, the angels surround them. It’s here, to a small, inconspicuous group of outsiders that God chooses to announce the birth of Godself into the world. This tells us something about God and the shepherds. That God comes to people like us to bring the light into a world that is often filled with darkness. The shepherds respond to God’s invitation by running to this baby the angels told them about. What does this say about how we should respond to God? It might not always come with a choir of angels, but God is always inviting us to come and meet Christ – calling us deeper into relationship with our neighbors, or practice blessing our enemies without judgment. The shepherds run with excitement to the center of this production, even if it’s only for a moment. Eventually the Magi of the East will come bearing sacred gifts to honor the Christ child. But tonight, the shepherds bring only themselves. They are not rich. And they carry with them hardly any possessions. In fact, the only present they bring was their humble presence. They come with an open heart to receive what God wanted to share with them. They come with a willingness to be transformed, with courage to overcome any fear they might have had. They bring with them a small spark of faith, and a flickering light of hope. Tomorrow as we wake up and exchange presents with one another, I hope you will think about the gifts you can give after the tree and decorations are put away? The gifts of the shepherds. As you pull the tinsel off the tree and put away the Frosty the Snowman videos, remember the surprise and joy of the lowly workers, and offer the good news to someone who is lost in March, or someone who is hungry in June, who is in need of peace in October. Theologian and civil rights leader, Howard Thurman, said it best in his poem The Work of Christmas: When the song of the angels is stilled, When the star in the sky is gone, When the kings and princes are home, When the shepherds are back with their flocks, The work of Christmas begins: To find the lost, To heal the broken, To feed the hungry, To release the prisoner, To rebuild the nations, To bring peace among others, To make music in the heart. Like Thurman pointed out, our gift to God is our response to the human condition. How we care for those who are hungry, comfort those who mourn, clothe the naked is how we sing our heartfelt hallelujahs. And showcase God’s glory. Our gifts are not dependent on what we can afford, but on what we are willing to give – that inner light of Christ that shines brightly through our acts of mercy, grace and love. When life gives us a dark year like this one, God entrusts us with carrying in the light into the darkness. And there’s plenty of darkness out there – political unrest, systematic racism, and inequality and injustice. COVID has left countless widowed and orphaned, shuttered a lot of our small businesses and forced layoffs that have left many people fearing they’ll be left homeless in the new year. There is a real hunger and need for the light of Christ to be seen; its warmth felt. It doesn’t take a heavenly host of angels to deliver the good news of God’s love and mercy to the world. A smile or a kind word will suffice. A gentle touch or willing ear can go a long way. As one little baby showed us, as those humble shepherds would discover, the smallest of gifts can have the greatest impact in God’s kingdom. Like a good friend once said, “Christmas night is different from other nights but that all other days and nights are different because of Christmas night.” In Christ, God burst through the darkness and lit up the stage where there are no insignificant players left waiting in the wings. We are all important voices invited to participate and to proclaim God’s redemptive grace. In Christ, God is calling you to the role of a lifetime; to be in the spotlight, center stage, singing with heavenly hosts: The first noel, the angels did say, was to certain poor shepherds in fields as they lay. I encourage you to take God’s invitation out into the world. Go and be the gift of God’s light and love to all of God’s children...the faithful and faithless alike. Your presence is the only present God needs to redeem the world with peace. May God bless you. May the Holy Spirit lead you. And May Christ shine through you, everywhere you go. Merry Christmas. And good night. Work Cited Special thanks to the inspiration of Jazzy Bostock's "The Shepherds." (accessed on 12-22-2020). Oscar Wilde famously quipped, “If you’re not too long, I will wait for you all my life.” There is something both funny and sad about this. Research has shown that Americans spend roughly 37 billion hours waiting in line each year. I suspect that total might be higher this year.
As we wait for this virus to pass and a vaccine to take hold, I want to tell you about a Japanese concept known as ‘ma.’ It refers to a gap, pause or negative space between things. Think about the time between ordering a hamburger and actually receiving it. You wait and your stomach growls, your mouth waters, or you get frustrated and “hangry” as others get their orders before you. The beautiful thing about ‘ma’ is it offers us a great way to practice mindfulness. To live in that gap of time, fully present and aware of the world in and all around us. I recently put this technique to the test while standing in a long line to get into Trader Joes. While most people stood there with their face buried into their phones, I made a mental list of all the things I was grateful for. As I did, I began to feel more relaxed and see the blessings of God all around me. And my mood transformed from frustrated and bored, to feeling calm and alive. Advent is a season of waiting. A time to be present with God and be transformed in the process. The question for us is: How do we fill in the gap of time between now and when Christ is revealed in the world? For the third Sunday in advent, we return to the proclamation of an unknown prophet who wrote this part of what is commonly known as third Isaiah. These words of hope were written in the aftermath of the Babylonian exile. The Israelites had waited a long time to go home and to begin the restoration of the Holy Land. The prophet offers them this poetic reminder of who they are and what they are called to do as they rebuild their lives from the rubble of war. Some five hundred years after they were first spoken, Jesus would stand in synagogue in his hometown and read these very words to the congregation as he himself ushered in the Kingdom of Heaven in a new and yet familiar way. Read Isaiah 61:1-4; 8-11 It is commonly believed that these verses from Isaiah center around the theme of salvation and mission. Perhaps that’s why Jesus read from this particular scroll when he did. As the story goes Luke’s gospel, Jesus returns to his hometown. The people are excited. Word had gotten out that he was a rabbi whose yoke, his interpretations and teachings of scripture, were new and exciting. Similar to what this unknown author of this Isaiah passage is doing - recalling older traditions found in Torah and molding them in new ways. His mission is clear, “to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Salvation has come for those who are afflicted. Debts will be wiped away. And the land will be returned to its rightful owners. Imagine your Congressperson proclaiming salvation like this he or she would be run out of town. It shouldn’t surprise us that when Jesus read this passage, he too was revealing a bit of himself and his calling – that he has come to fulfill the redemptive grace of God. It’s funny what we call good news today was enough to send the folks in the pews running after Jesus to kill him. How blasphemous that he, the lowly carpenter’s kid, was going to be the one who save them. Most Christians today have no problem professing that Jesus is their savior. But how many have ever been bold enough to ask, what is it that I need to be saved from? Somewhere along the way, salvation has come to be defined as being saved from God's punishment and avert going to hell. This seems to be counter intuitive to God’s hesed, or steadfast love. It makes God’s grace seem so petty and small. Like it’s based on quid pro quo. A bigger problem I have in this way of thinking is that it puts the focus of our mission on filling up heaven with as many people as possible and has very little to do with actually doing the work to make people want to go there in the first place. Like Gandhi said, “I like your Christ, but not your Christians.” Too many people who say they believe in Jesus, but with little intention to actually follow what he calls them to do. That hypocrisy, I fear, is chasing people away from God’s love and grace instead of drawing them in. Where is the good news in that? I think both Jesus and Isaiah challenge us to name salvation, not as making reservations for life after we die, but a way to live life before we die. If this is so, then salvation is not a free pass through the pearly gates. It’s about being transformed right here, beginning right now. It would mean our mission as followers of Christ must focus only on how we participate in this world. Which takes us to the words in Isaiah. Like I said, he’s taking old promises and making them new again. His words of hope for God’s people are drawn directly from Torah, the story of life and how to live it. More than an extensive collection of laws God gave to Moses, Torah teaches us how to care for all of God’s creation...and live with abundance in God’s shalom. We have a neighbor, Eli, who is a bighearted Moroccan Jewish immigrant from Israel. When I was in seminary, he was always curious about what I was learning. One day I saw him and said I had learned the meaning of life. And Eli laughed, “Oh really? Tell me, what is the meaning of life?” I looked him in the eye and said one word, “Torah.” Eli’s smile and said, “So now you know. But what about your Jesus?” I thought for a moment and told him, “Jesus is the only one I know who lived Torah perfectly. By following him I have the key to living an abundant life.” If Jesus is nothing more than the living embodiment of Torah, then he is still a savior. Following his teachings, his way of living life, is what saves us from doing harm to others. It invites us to be peace makers just as Jesus was. Our mission then, as the body of Christ, is to live Torah – which can be simplified in the way we love God, love others, and serve both. And let us not forget those others we are called to love include those who are named as the recipients of the good news: the oppressed, the broken hearted, the captives and prisoners, the mournful, the faint of spirit. As followers of Christ, we are called to be missionaries who proclaim God’s favor among the nations so that God’s salvation will be known in a world not yet fully redeemed. To stay well in the midst of all that’s happening in our world these days, Henri Nouwen advised us “to stay close to the small, vulnerable child that lives in our hearts and in every other human being.” That small child he speaks of is the Christ within us. The divine imprint of God’s love etched in all of creation. Advent is a time of waiting. As we wait, let us use the time to look within ourselves and in the eyes of others to see the small Christ child and act accordingly. Like Catherine Doherty wrote, “Christians are called to incarnate Christ in our lives, to clothe our lives with him, so that people can see him in us, touch him in us, recognize him in us.” But is that how we are spending our time? Have we let the busyness of the world get in the way of living Christ? As you think about that, take her words to heart. When we allow the Christ in us be seen in us, then we might be more incline to act with love and compassion. It’s in those moments we begin to understand the power of God’s saving grace. “The immense problems of war, of social injustice, and of the thousand and one ills that beset our world, can be solved only if we begin to see, love, respect, and reverence Christ in the eyes of another, then they will change, and society will change also.” What this means for us today is simple. When we allow the Christ in us be seen, we can meet cruelty with the compassion of Christ. When we allow the Christ in us be seen, we can face injustice with the fairness of Christ. When we allow the Christ in us be seen, we can speak truth and kindness even when others speak maliciously and lie. We can bring unity to division. Peace to unrest. And calm into anxiety and fear. Whenever we liberate others with loving and forgiving hearts, our hearts are also set free. When we comfort those who mourn with Christlike compassion, our spirits are comforted as well. When we practice the way of Christ, we become more like him and less like us. We become transformed people. I think this is what Paul was hinting at when he wrote, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your minds, so you may discern what is the will of God – what is good, acceptable and perfect” (Rom. 12:2). When we allow the Christ in us be seen, we live into who God made us to be beloved children who transform and redeem the world back to God. As followers of Christ, it’s our mission to reveal God’s salvific work ushering in the kingdom of heaven, right here and right now, by living Christ who perfectly embodied Torah. Richard Rohr wrote, “Humanity needs a Jesus whose life can save you even more than his death. A Jesus we can practically imitate, and who sets the bar for what it means to be fully human.” This is why the concept of ‘ma’ is so important. In those times of waiting, we can fill the gap by living Christ. I like to breath slowly and say this mantra over and over as I wait: Christ come into me Christ come out of me Christ come into me Christ come out of me Practicing mindfulness and ma is so simple anyone can do it. Anyone can offer a smile or a kind word to a stranger. Or text to a friend that simply says, “Thank you for being in my life.” Simple acts of kindness and generosity are a great way to let Christ shine through you. But remember, in order for Christ to be seen, Christ must always be present and visible. And for some strange reason God has chosen us for this task. God entrusted you and me to give birth to the Christ within us so others may be awoken to his presence and see God’s glory. Let us go now, out into the world like “a garden that causes what is sown to spring up, so the Lord God will cause righteousness and praise to spring up before all nations.” Our world needs the light of Christ to shine through the darkness we are mired in. So go be the incarnation of Christ by living out the Gospel with your life. Go give birth to God’s divine and perfect love “as faithfully and fearlessly as a woman in labor who holds nothing back in order to bring new life into the world” (Rohr). Go and shine the light of love and life that is in you...now and forever, Amen let us pray: Gracious and Giving God open our eyes so we can see you. Open our hearts so we can receive you. Open our hands so we can share you. Open our mouths so we can proclaim you. Amen. Work Cited Bartlett, David L. and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word, Year B Vol. 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008; pp. 50-55. Rohr, Richard. The Universal Christ. New York: Convergent, 2019; p. 107. Yesterday I was listening to a podcast from Jack Kornfield, who told a story of Maurice Sendak, the author of Where the Wild Things Are. One day Sendak got a card from a little boy named Jim that had a cute little drawing on it. The boy’s efforts impressed Sendak so much that he sent Jim a thank you card with an original wild thing drawing on the inside. A few weeks later the boy’s mother wrote back with a follow up letter saying, “Jim loved your card so much he ate it.” Maurice Sendak said, “That was the highest compliment I have ever received.” The boy didn't care that the drawing was worth thousands of dollars. He saw it. He loved it. He ate it. A great reminder for us who still hunger for something greater than ourselves. Advent is a time God has given to us to wait with awe and wonder. It’s not a passive wait but a time to be actively engaged in God’s kingdom. And one way to engage is to devour God’s word. Not literally eat the Bible, like Jim might have done. But to feast on the liturgical smorgasbord of stories that have been passed down through the centuries to nourish our souls. Today we are going back to the ancient texts of Isaiah. This particular passage is the beginning of what is known as Second Isaiah. It was written by an anonymous writer some 50 years after Babylon invaded Judah and dragged her citizens into exile. Some 30 centuries later, this poetic prophecy provides God’s people with some words of hope and promise, as well as some basic instructions on how to be better prepare for Christmas. READ: Isaiah 40:1-11 Like Second Isaiah pointed out, as the people sit in exile, they’ve had decades to think about the error of their ways. This poetic song begins like a scene in a movie where a criminal stands before the parole board who judge him. It’s up to him to defends himself - showing his remorse and a penitent heart. Whatever he is guilty of, he has done his time and he believes he deserves to be freed. God’s people were guilty for sure. They had turned away from God, putting their trust in earthly powers. They believed God was punishing them by abandoning them to the hands of their enemy. But in reality, they were the one’s who abandoned God. As they plead for mercy and salvation God sends hopeful words of comfort through this prophetic voice: “Comfort my people…she has served her penalty…received double for all her sins…A voice cries out, ‘In the wilderness, prepare the way of the Lord.’” While most of our country is gearing up for the holidays, trimming the trees and decking the halls, the world is still suffering under the heavy weight of this horrific pandemic. In many ways, COVID has invaded our way of life and has forced us into exile. Today in Southern California stay at home orders go into effect, travel restrictions are being put in place, and I would bet that getting a vaccine is on top of everyone’s Christmas list. If we have learned anything from our sacred scriptures, it’s knowing that our pain and suffering is only temporary. Like the poetic prophet wrote, “The grass withers, the flowers fade; but God’s word endures forever.” This is our reminder to use our time of Advent wait, to prepare the way of the Lord who will come in the most unexpected way: Not like a powerful king with a vicious army hellbent on revenge, but like a small and fragile baby, born into poverty to a couple of unknown kids.
More than that, when I look at this sculpture, I see Joseph and am reminded of who I am as a father – to my kids and everyone else’s. Jesus was not his son. Yet Joseph chose to welcome Jesus into his heart and home. He chose to look after Jesus and protect him, even though he had no obligation to do so. Joseph was faithful to God, whose “word endures forever.”
Then there’s Mary, who reminds me that we are all called to be Mothers of Christ if for no other reason than Christ is always in need of being born. Mary teaches me how to live in the tension between my present circumstances and the promise of God. As a pregnant teenage girl, Mary had much to be afraid of. What would people think? What shame would she bring upon her family? Would Joseph be there for her? Would her baby live? Yet she remained faithful to God’s promise. When her family narrowly escaped Herod’s genocide and was forced to be political refugees in a foreign land, Mary’s faithfulness in God stood firm. And then, at the foot of the cross, crushed by a pain no mother should have to bear, Mary trusted God whose “word endures forever.” And of course, there’s the baby lying in the manger. It’s a universal image of Christmas that’s so familiar that we forget God chose to come to us in human weakness. This simple and familiar portrayal of Jesus reminds me of my own vulnerability and weakness; and my need to rely on something greater than myself. When I see this baby, I also remember that I too am a beloved child of God; swaddled in unconditional and steadfast love of the One whose word endures forever. More importantly, when I see Jesus in this hand-carved wooden manger my mind sees him on another wooden structure and I think about the sacrifice he made for my behalf. A wooden cross or a wooden statue, I am reminded that all things are finite, but God’s Word endures forever. And so, we leave it out to remind ourselves of the incarnate promise that is made manifest day-after-day and year-after-year. The more I think about it, Advent is our reminder that God is not finished with us. As we wait for God’s plan to unfold, we wait with purpose. Preparing the way for Christ to come, by preparing our hearts and hands to be faithful like his. To quote St. Paul, “The only thing that matters is faith expressing itself in love” (Galatians 5:6) We prepare the way of the Lord in all the ways we love - bringing hope to the hopeless and forgiveness the unforgivable. As Jesus taught us, we proclaim God’s promise of peace, by being peacemakers. We prepare the path of righteousness with consistent and steady footsteps; walking humbly, loving freely, and fighting for justice for all people. Advent is a time to remember that Christ not only came to be with us, but to be in us to reveal God’s glory so that “all people shall see it together.” This is what it means to be the church, the visible witness crying out in the wilderness – preparing the way for the one more powerful than us. As the psalmist sung, “Righteousness shall go before him, and peace shall be a pathway for his feet.” Where righteousness and peace are practiced, God is present. Advent is a time to prepare a path that will lead God right into our hearts! So as we wait, let us participate in the coming of our Lord by tuning our ear to the voices crying out for mercy. And by opening our hands to touch others in need of human tenderness. Let us go out into the world to meet Christ by being little Christ in the world. For when Christ is alive in each one of us, then Christ will always be present, not just on Christmas Day but every day. Today is the first Sunday of the Advent season. It’s a time of expectation and looking forward to the joy that is to come. At a time when the world is rushing towards the busyness of Christmas the church starts its new year inviting you to prepare your heart for God’s joy made incarnate. Now we know that on Dec. 25th Christmas will arrive and all our anticipation and excitement will come to a head.
But, waiting for Christ requires us to prepare our hearts, and not just our homes, for when he arrives. We don’t know when that day will be. We can’t pencil it in on our calendar. But we know what to expect. We will have to wait. And as we wait, we are to prepare our hearts by living out each day in faithfulness to God’s will. Advent is not the only time God has made us wait. The Bible is filled with stories of God’s people waiting for rescue, deliverance, and salvation. Waiting is a pervasive theme throughout Isaiah which was written sometime after the Babylonian conquest of Israel. Their country was in ruin. The Temple reduced to dust and ash. God’s people where in tears, suffering in exile. They shouted out to God, like their ancestors had but only to find silence. They wondered had God abandoned them to suffer alone. They wonder, like we often do today, where God is or why God let this happen to them. In that time between our suffering and salvation, we wait for God to act. And thus, Isaiah reminds us to remain faithful; to wait patiently and with purpose. God is up to something, but what? Read: Isaiah 64-1:9 Is it strange that Advent begins with a prayer of lament and a plea for help? Or that God’s people cry out for a savior and God makes them wait? If anything good has come from 2020, it’s that it has made us better at waiting. We’ve waited during lockdowns and quarantines. Waited for test results, and toilet paper to be restocked. We’ve waited on our orders from Amazon, Instacart, and Postmates to be delivered. Sadly, some have had to wait for hospital beds and respirators. Or outside nursing homes to wave to a loved one. We’ve waited for election results, unemployment checks, for school’s to open and work to resume, and of course we’re all waiting for a vaccine. If we’ve mastered anything this year it’s waiting. In this particular passage, Isaiah reminds us that the same God who makes mountains quake and nations tremble is also a God who makes us wait. It hardly seems fair, especially when we feel all alone and scared. What does this say about the character of God who hides from us in our time of need? It doesn’t feel very kind or loving does it? What could be the reason for God to want to leave us to our pain and suffering? I doubt it’s too be cruel. Writing on this passage, Scott Bader-Saye argues two points on this strange characteristic of our Divine Creator. And I think they are worth pondering. First, he believes God hides from Israel to remind them that God is not exclusively theirs. Think about that for a moment because this problem still persists today. Not just within Judaism, but within the different sides of Christianity and Islam and other religions. Each is guilty of claiming ownership of God. But here’s the thing, there’s no box big enough to contain, muchless control, God. The pot does not create the potter. It merely showcases her talent and creativity. No one owns God. Instead, God owns us. All of us. Black, brown, or white; straight, gay, or indifferent, we are God’s beloved children. Or as the psalmist wrote, we are the sheep of his pasture. we can’t ever lose sight of that. Until we stop dividing ourselves over politics, gender, nationality, or religious doctrine the fullness of God’s power and glory will remain hidden from us. The second point Bader-Saye explores is this idea that sometimes God hides on purpose. And that purpose is to awaken us of our wrongdoing. For example, God might hide to help us deconstruct a distorted set of beliefs and practices that cause us to make God in our image. I think there’s some truth to this. In seminary, the professors were tasked with deconstructing any preconceived notions of God that we might have brought with us. This was a long process that truly tested the strength of one’s faith. Between shedding the old and the building up the new, there is a long period of waiting in the emptiness of one’s self. It was an active waiting, where I was preparing my heart to receive God and to see my calling through God’s eyes and not my own. In his time of waiting for God, Isaiah is able to see and understand the difference between the God of Israel and the other gods in the cultures of his time. He remembers God greatness recalling, “When you did awesome deeds that we did not expect, you came down, the mountains quaked at your presence.” He is stunned and shocked to discover that this God works for the people, and the people for whom God works are the people who wait for God. Advent is a time of waiting for God who is working for us in ways that are yet to be revealed. John Pavlovitz reminds us, “If we cultivate a bit of faith, that in-between time can be a hopeful space for us, a place where we can welcome transformation. Rather than wanting the time to pass quickly, we can actually enjoy it because we know we are being renovated.” At the end of our reading today, Isaiah gives us two more insights into God’s character. One as a parent. And the other as a potter. Both of these images reveal an intimate connection that God has with us. To paraphrase Richard Rohr, God is always being drawn to the image of God in us. Ours is a God who has not abandoned us in our wait, but one whose hand is upon us; shaping us over time like a parent shapes the character of a child, as a potter lovingly molds her clay. “Just as it is with the child in Mary’s womb, there is always change taking place, always new life about to spring forth.” And so we wait for God to do what God does. To mold our hearts to love as God loves us and to shape our hands to give as God has given to all. As you busy yourself preparing for Christmas, I hope you will remember this: You are God’s malleable work of art, being carefully shaped into the vessel of God’s incarnation to bring forth the presence of Christ to the world. You are a masterwork whether you know it or not. And a masterwork takes time. As we enter a time of waiting for the incarnation, we do so knowing God is shaping us to be like him. Thus in his first letter, John writes, “All of us who look forward to his Coming stay ready – with the glistening purity of Jesus' life as a model for our own” (1 John 3:2-3). By this we will not only be prepared to live in the promised realm of God when it comes, but we also get to experience what life in that realm is like today. And so, we pray, and stick together, and love one another, and see to it that people are cared for and life is shared and peace prevails as we wait upon the Lord who is revealed to us in the incarnation of all that we do. Works Cited Bartlett, David L and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting On The Word, Year B Vol 1. Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2008. Pavlovitz, John. Low: An Honest Advent Devotional. Chalice Press, 2019. Rice, Whitney. "Waiting Upon the Lord." 23 12 2020. episcopalchurch.org (accessed on 28 12 2020). Can we trust in God’s faithfulness to be faithful to God?I always love to say that my two best investments were my first house and my second wife. Of course, not in that order. If you have invested money before I think you’ll like today’s parable. It’s one where Jesus talks about a risky venture; the kind that is guaranteed to multiply one’s personal investment.
Ask any wealth manager and they will tell you, if you want to grow your money it will take time. They say the slow and steady path is often the safest bet. The quicker you go, the greater the risk you have to be willing to make. And the greater the risk, the greater chance of losing it all. Keep in mind, the investment Jesus is asking us to make isn’t so much about being rich and successful, but simply being faithful. You are investing in yourself. Read Matthew 25:14-30 When Jesus told this story, he was in the middle of his own high-risk venture. He’s left Galilee for Jerusalem where in just a few days he will be executed on a Roman cross. So they don’t lose hope, Jesus tells his disciples a series of eschatological parables; stories that will prepare them for what is to come. Last week it was about Ten Bridesmaids. Today, it’s Three Men and their Talents. When our modern ears hear the word talent, we often think of someone who has a skill or certain ability. My wife is a talented singer. Or my son has a talent for getting out of trouble. But in 1st Century Palestine, a talent was something different. Back then, it was a large sum of money; roughly 15 year’s worth of wages for the average laborer. For someone to give these men even one talent would mean they were entrusting them with a huge fortune. The parable isn’t about money or ability. It’s about something even more important. It’s about trust. The master trusts his investments with these men. And does so without giving them any instructions on what to do with it. The first guy takes it and invests in a high-risk venture. The second dumps it into the stock market. Both men do very well; doubling their master’s money. The third guy takes a very different approach. Instead of taking a risk he buried the money in the ground, a common security measure in ancient times. Given the volatility of the market these days, and the way this pandemic is affecting the economy it might seem like a wise investment plan. But that’s not the reason he gives. Instead he confesses he was afraid of the master. Because he had zero trust in the one who trusted him, he took zero financial risk. And as a result got nothing in return. Again, this parable isn’t about money or one’s ability to acquire wealth. It’s about trusting God who first trusted us. To be prepared for Christ to return, we need to trust God by doing God’s will. That’s what the first two do. They take a chance in their faith and as a result they both receive the same praise. And the same invitation: “Well done, good and trustworthy servant…enter into the joy of your master.” To be fair, I think the master would have responded just the same had they risked it all and come back empty handed. After all, he doesn’t commend them for their profits, but their faithfulness. The master made it clear that he would have accepted anything – even the measly interest you get at the bank – had the intent had been motivated by faith rather than fear. This is a good lesson for us all. Fear has no value, other than it drives us to our downfall like it did to this man. As someone once said, “The God we face is the one we imagine.” Faith on the other hand is invaluable. In giving his fortune to these three men, the master reveals his faith, and trustworthiness. He’s not terrible and appalling like the fearful man saw him to be. Given his response to the first two, it seems the master is more interested in the well-being of his workers than making a profit for himself. That’s the portrait of God that Jesus paints for us. The first two men see this and take the risk without any promise of gaining anything in return. They have some faith and run with it. The third guy has none, and loses out. This parable is about our trust in God just as it is about God’s trust in us. It’s about our faithfulness to God who has faith in us. This begs the question: Can we trust in God’s faithfulness to be faithful to God? This parable makes it clear in that if you focus on your fears, allowing your worry and anxieties to make your decisions then your fears will be realized. If you focus on your faith, stepping out of your comfort zone, knowing and trusting in God’s faithfulness then your faith will only increase. I don’t think Jesus is telling this parable to his disciples to scare them. I think he wants to know if they can trust God enough to carry on his ministry when he is gone. Will they invest in the kingdom of heaven by investing their hearts in the gospel? Will they risk it all to care deeply and profoundly for all of God’s children? We must ask ourselves this same question. Are we willing to invest and risk it all – trusting the one who first trusted us? Like Jesus points out, and will further explain in the next parable, this is how we too enter into the joy of God. Risking your life by loving and caring for the least of these our brothers and sisters. Faithful living is not static. It takes getting involved and taking risks. It’s easy to claim faith and to bury it in the ground... doing nothing to increase it. This past presidential election revealed to me the fear of so many Christians, who claim to follow Christ, who seem to know what faithful living looks like, and yet hesitate or refuse to live it. Instead of trusting Christ faithfully, they put their trust a person who has nothing to do with him. Today is a good time to look at your own actions, and ask yourself what are you investing in? Faith is a high-risk venture. It’s not some insurance plan you take out for the hereafter. Faith isn’t so much believing ideas about Jesus as it is about following him and doing what he did. And the only way to really do that is by trusting God so completely that you can go all in faithfully and fearlessly as you carry the presence of Christ everywhere you go. As the disciples will soon discover, living the gospel out loud is a risky venture. But it does pay out in abundance. Jesus gives us the choice. You can choose to be like the fearful servant who gets exactly what fear has to offer: Nothing. Or you can choose to put your trust in God’s faithfulness, and reap the rewards that come with being like God’s most faithful child. Jesus risked it all by going to Jerusalem and living faithfully to the will of God. He taught us that life is a risk one must take on faith, and not fear. Moreover, what turns out to be important is not our ability to make sound financial investments but our willingness to invest profoundly in our soul. At the end of the day, life is not about what we accomplished but whether we learned to trust God enough to be faithful with our love. It’s a high-risk investment where the only ones who lose it all are the ones who dare to put nothing in. Work Cited Bartlett, David L and Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word, Year A Vol. 4. (Louisville: Westminster John Knox, 2011) pp. 308-313. Inspiration taken from a sermon by Charles H.Hoffacker entitled Trust, Not Fear. https://episcopalchurch.org/library/sermon/trust-not-fear-proper-28-–-2014 (accessed on 11-12-2020). What a roller coaster it’s been. Filled with highs and lows, sharp twists and unexpected turns. I feel as if I have whiplash from refreshing the news feed on my phone. But here we are. We are alive. Although we might be stunned and numbed. There is light at the end of this tunnel.
I did not watch the election results on Tuesday. I had a feeling it was going to turn out the way it did. A waiting game. And if there is one thing that all Americans can agree on, it’s we don't like to wait. Whether it’s waiting for mail in ballots to be counted, or being left on hold to speak to a customer service representative waiting makes us anxious, and frustrated. And sometimes angry. That’s the problem of living in a fast-paced world. We want faster technology, faster service, faster food, faster answers to prayers. It drives us nuts to have to wait. Unless of course we’re waiting with a purpose...you know waiting to see how the film will end or waiting until you complete the next level in a video game before you take out the trash. I’ll ask my son to do something and it’s always, “In a minute.” I swear if we set our clocks to his time, we’d never grow old. Although Joe Biden is the projected winner of the 2020 election, he has to wait until Jan 20 before he can move into the White House. We all have to wait to see what will happen in between. And like Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.” As we will see in today’s reading, Jesus tells a story about a belated celebration and what happens in the wait. It’s a parable on faith, where he tells us to “keep awake,” always ready for the future by being ready now. That’s because faith is all about active waiting. Read Matthew 25:1-13 If I rewrote this parable for today, it would be about ten pundits in a room waiting for the election results to come in from Nevada. Wisely, Jesus chooses a theme for his parable that is more universal to tell us about the kingdom of heaven. It’s about a wedding that doesn’t go quite as planned. I know from experience that even the best-planned wedding has the potential for mishaps. The weather can turn on a dime, catering can be delayed or simply not show up, or as it was in the case of my wedding, the organist plays “Here comes the bride” seven times before the bride actually comes...leaving the poor groom to wait at the altar while everyone stares at him. Weddings were a bit different back in the day when Jesus told this parable. The groom would be escorted by the bridal party into a home where the bride was waiting. They would consummate the affair, and then when they were ready come out and the party would begin. It was a big celebration, but one that wouldn’t have had a definite start time. You knew it would happen on that day or the next at the latest. SO guest knew to come prepared for the wait. It was custom for the bridesmaids to escort groom to the place where the wedding would occur. But it was also the custom for the groom to delay his arrival as a practical joke! We’re not sure what happened here in Mathew’s gospel other than these girls, dressed in their bridesmaid gowns, wait, and wait, and wait. The sky grows dark, the evening hours pass. And before they know it, all of them are asleep. Suddenly, someone awakens them! And they quickly attend to their lamps. Five of them have enough oil, and soon their lamps are glowing in the darkness. The others five do not. They ask to borrow some, but there is none to spare. They run out into the darkness looking for oil, which I imagine wasn’t that easy to do. While they are gone, the bridegroom arrives - escorted by the light of the remaining bridesmaids to meet his waiting bride. There’s something about this story that doesn’t sit well with us. The last are not first in this one. When the other five return, it’s too late. They are left outside. All dressed up, with no place to go. The story ends like a bad dream, with them begging but to no avail. It doesn’t seem fair that the so called “foolish” bridesmaids take the blame in this story while the bridegroom faces no consequences for making everyone wait for so long or for not being considerate enough to wait for the oil-deprived bridesmaids to return. And the ones who had enough oil don’t catch any flack for their lack of generosity. It’s a rather confusing explanation of the Kingdom of Heaven – one of hoarding, and a lack of compassion; a kingdom where one gets blamed for someone else’s carelessness. This is far from the things that Jesus has shared and shown up to this point. It makes me wonder if we’re reading this parable the way we’re should. Maybe it’s not about the wedding, or these wise and foolish characters. Maybe it’s about something else in this story. There’s only one other thing in this parable that Jesus talks about...the oil. Some have it, others do not, or not enough. What does Jesus want us to have but not all of us possess? The way I see it, Jesus is talking about oil as a way to talk about our faith. For example, the wise come prepared with enough faith to get them through the wait and uncertainty of tomorrow. The foolish don’t. They want the faith of the wise, only to discover it can’t be shared like that. My faith is uniquely mine. And yours is yours. What this parable is teaching me, is that it’s up to me to always be actively filling my spiritual reserves so that I will always be prepared to get through the long night of waiting. I know what it’s like to wait; especially for God to reveal where I am supposed to be. And I know what it’s like to have your faith stretched thin. By the time I fell asleep Tuesday night (which was really Wednesday morning) my faith in our country, and in Christianity, was nearly all but gone. I had just enough oil in reserve to trim my inner light to get me through the night. I had just enough faith left to know I can wait for God because I knew God is already here – working out the path that leads us to the celebration. In the midst of life’s joys and pain, in the uncertainty of what tomorrow might bring, it’s our faith that keeps our inner, personal light shining. It’s our faith that helps us be prepared for when the time comes to enter into the wedding banquet. Like oil in a lamp, we can run out of faith if we stop refiling our supply. Which is why Jesus issues a stark warning to stay awake. “Keep Awake!” Don’t let your faith fall asleep. Jesus is calling us to participate in the kingdom of heaven always. Actively engage in our faith – especially during this expectant period of waiting – by having mercy, offering forgiveness, walking humbly with our God; spreading the peace of Christ in the world. Faith is our oil that allows us to shine the light of Christ into the darkest of days. What good is it if you don’t use it as we wait for God’s redemptive plan to be fully revealed. Unlike when you put gas in your car and drive all over town, the more we practice our faith by being God’s love in the world, the more faith and love there is. The more you let your light shine on the Kingdom of Heaven, the brighter and longer your light will last. Being prepared to wait isn’t about stockpiling – like many did with ammunition before the election. The Kingdom of Heaven isn’t a doomsday story. It’s God’s redemptive plan for all of us. To be prepared is to keep your faith awake, and to put it to work while you wait. We’re all invited to the wedding, but only some of us will get in. Later in Matthew 25 Jesus lays out what this means. But it boils down to this: those whose faith is focused on doing the work of the kingdom will see the kingdom. Those who do not will be left in the darkness. Faith takes work. We can’t sleep through it. We have to keep awake, stay active. We have to exercise our faith if we want to build up the muscle. The more we use it, the more we have. As we wait for a new dawn to arrive in this moment of darkness, as we wait, unsure of what others might do or not do, as we wait with anxious hearts for God to come lead us home, Jesus says keep awake. Do not let the light of your faith fade. It’s up to us to use this time of active wait to be active disciples – taking up our cross and following in the footsteps of Jesus. There’s no better time to shine than now – when hatred and anger and brokenness need to the light of Christ to see a way to love and kindness and reconciliation. Every moment we let pass is time ticking off the clock before the doors are shut. For the real tragedy of life is not that it ends so soon, but that we wait too long to begin it. The kingdom of heaven summons us today to build up our reserves of faith that prepares us to weather the unexpected timing of God. I also believe we’ve been given this time today to wait for God, so that we can let our faith shine brightly for others to find their way. Today, we have been given the time to wait for God, so that God can work in us and through us for freedom, justice, and compassion because world is still crying out for help. Today, we have been given the time to wait, to find our own unique way to be the heart of God, the light of Christ, and the very presence of the Holy Spirit in this moment. So, I invite you to let your faith shine brightly today, light up the darkness so all can see the way of truth and righteousness as we wait to walk with the bridegroom who leads us towards God’s open arms for the greatest celebration ever. Work Cited: Bartlett, David L, Barbara Brown Taylor, eds. Feasting on the Word, Year A, vol. 4. (Louisville, Westminster John Knox) 2011. pp. 284-289. Kelley, Shannon. Be Prepared. http://episcopaldigitalnetwork.com/lessons/2014/09/21/be-prepared We spent the month of October talking about joy. In that time LA Lakers and the LA Dodgers both won the National Championships. For me, that’s reason alone to rejoice!
But today is also November 1. And that means…KNOWvember is here. If you are not familiar with this little tradition, it’s a challenge I made up that forces me to meet 30 people in 30 days. The goal is to look for things that connect us instead of focusing on the stuff that divides us. On a spiritual level KNOWvember helps me stay focused on the Divine image that dwells within all people. And at the same time allows the Divine to shine through me. It’s in this simple action, I’ve come to discover that joy can be experienced in a way I think God originally intended – being in community with one another. Often a city can become united when their team wins the World Series. But Christ calls his followers together on a much deeper level and for a much greater purpose. So we can “Rejoice in the Lord always,” a phrase Paul wrote to his friends in Philippi. Before we jump into our final look at this letter of joy let’s remember Paul is writing it from prison where the threat of being executed constantly looms over him. And yet, so too does his joy. This is a perfect reminder to us all, that joy is not about having everything perfect. Joy is not, “Every cloud has a silver lining” kind of happy emotion. Let’s face it, some clouds are dark and thunderous. Joy is also not about having all together. Being rich and successful doesn’t mean your life doesn’t unravel or that someone can’t steal your joy. It just means you can cry in a nicer car or a bigger house. It makes me wonder if we all have to suffer at some point, if only to grasp the fullness of Paul’s idea of rejoicing always. Tom Holliday notes, “Joy is applying God’s truth and power to our imperfect and sometimes terrible circumstances and realizing that God is right there,” in the midst of whatever life throws at us. Like I said a few weeks ago: when life kicks the joy out of you, God kicks it back in. No matter what obstacle you’re facing, or struggle you’re dealing with, you can still find joy because joy first found you. And loves you no matter what. All because true joy begins with God, and when God is at the center of your life you can experience the fullness of God’s joy. And always have a reason to rejoice. READ: Philippians 4:1-9 In this final chapter, Paul hints that there’s some tension happening between two women. Perhaps this is why he was writing the letter in the first place. But Paul doesn’t give us details about their dispute, because the details are not important. It doesn’t matter who is right and who is wrong. What’s important is this tension is making their joy incomplete. They’re not being of one mind with Christ Jesus. This is not to suggests we have to be the same or think the same. Christianity isn’t a robotic ritual. But there’s plenty of commonality to focus on. For example, Jesus calls us into a way of life built upon the strong bond of God's love which has been poured into us. If we want to find real joy, the kind that allows us to fully rejoice in the Lord always, then we have to be of one mind, and one heart. That is to be in oneness with God. Recently, a disagreement happened between two friends it was over something as trivial as politics and led to one of the friends cutting the other out of her life. This kind of stuff is happening all over our country. Families are split, friendships are broken, and even churches are losing people because they’ve chosen politics over love. I suspect in a couple of days half the country will be gloating from the outcome of our elections. That means others will be left gutted. How can we rejoice, muchless find real joy if someone we care for is hurting? Abraham Lincoln knew, “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” We might not always see eye-to-eye. That’s okay. Some of us are liberals. Some of us are conservative. In our house, some of us are Giants fan. While others are still enjoying the Dodger’s World Series victory. Yet we still manage to love one another. Here’s what I want you to know: In spite of our differences, when we love as God loves us, we become one instrument of God's joy. Moreover, if God’s love is at the center of all we do, then we can confront and reconcile the things that steal our joy. The Bible tells us that Christ came to reconcile us back to God. This tells me that reconciliation leads to joyful living. Perhaps you know what it’s like to work out your differences with a friend or a loved one. There’s a sense of joy and happiness that makes your bond that much stronger. Through Christ, God’s love and joy are given to us so that we can do the same for one another. As Paul wrote in Ephesians, “Be imitators of Christ, as beloved children. And walk in love.” When we do that for each other, we become not only closer to one another but closer to God as well. That alone is reason enough to to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” Like Paul mentioned, you are able to rejoice and find our joy when you “let your gentleness be known.” It seems to me that God works best through our compassion; in the kindness and love that Christ put in our hearts. Jesus was gentle. He did not push people away, but instead drew people to him through love. He didn’t put up a wall or separate people from who is worthy and who is not worthy of his love. Instead Jesus crossed over social and tribal boundaries to share God’s love and show God’s grace to everyone who needed to feel it or receive it. It didn’t matter what they believed or how much faith they had Jesus showed gentleness and compassion to all, because that’s how its done in the kingdom of Heaven. That’s how joy is given and received with God in Christ Jesus. That’s how Paul is able to rejoice always in the Lord knowing that God is always present and always one step ahead of him to receive him with open arms at the finish line. This is our assurance as well when we chose to walk in the footsteps of Christ. Instead of hurting people, Jesus comforts, heals, and forgives no matter what. And he calls us to do the same, to be little Christ in the world, sharing the love of God to all. Once again the acronym for joy is Jesus Others and You. This is an invitation to be like Jesus who served others so that you can find your everlasting and eternal joy. We see this throughout the gospels. For example, on the night Jesus was handed over to his death, he gives his disciples one final lesson. After washing their tired and dirty feet, Jesus told them to “Love one another as I have loved you.” Everything Jesus did was based on this one simple yet profound sentence. As Sara Miles poetically noted, “(Jesus’) human body was God’s language, as much as his human speech.” Jesus revealed God’s glory in the way he loved others. He continues to do so today , in the varied ways he shows his love to us. It’s in this love, in the receiving and in the giving, we are one with Christ who is one with God. Just as we share in God’s love we also share in God’s joy. And when we share God’s joy, the world can help but rejoice always! I can’t overstress the importance of this love ethic; especially as we struggle to find joy in our lives. Our nation is divided. People are hurting. The pandemic and the politics behind it are not helping. Too many of us are allowing these things to steal our joy. In his final commandment, Jesus gives us an important clue to God’s nature: Love and Joy cannot be separated. Without God’s love at the center of our life, real joy cannot and will not ever exist. Not in you. Not in me. And not in the world. If you are lacking in joy in your life, if you are angry with someone or if something is causing you pain, look within yourself, look for the divine who is inside you (whether you know or not God is in you because you are made with God’s DNA) and you will find a divine light flickering in you. And be like the light that shines in the darkness of the world, be the joy of Christ who gave his life so that others could live life, a life eternal. This is what it means to love one another as God first loved us. Therefore, "Whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable" go and do those things for others by being like Jesus who humbled himself – not for his glory, nor for his need to be right, but for the righteousness of God’s glory. I will leave you with a quote from Herni Nouwen who wrote, “When God’s love is at the center of all we do, then we are able to offer our joy and peace, our consolation and reconciliation to others; especially in moments of crisis or conflict.” Once we start living intentionally with this kind of conviction, then our joy can never be defeated. No matter what the world can throw at us, we remain as God's beloved children. For that alone, let us "Rejoice in the Lord always, again I say rejoice." Let us pray: Holy and Merciful Creator and Lord, we lift up our hearts with thanksgiving and praise for all that you have done in our lives today. For that we say thank you. Amen. Works Cited Holladay, Tom. Philippians: The Eight Places Joy is Won or Lost. El Toro: Saddleback Church. Miles, Sara. Jesus Freak: Feeding, Healing, Raising the Dead. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2010. Nouwen, Henri. Bread for the Journey: A Day Book of Wisdom and Faith. New York: HarperCollins e-books, 1997. |
Rev. Ianhas been blogging under the name: Jesus not Jesús: Looking for Christ in the face of strangers. You can read his posts and browse his archives by clicking here. Sermon Archives
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