4th Sunday in Ordinary Time

1 Corinthians 13:1-13

Great Love

1. Way In

I Love:

Peanut butter, meat loaf

shrimp, crawfish, clams, crabs, lobster

cold beer, red wine, Coca Cola

reading The New York Times

crossword puzzles, NYT is 1^st choice, others

books, reading, libraries

William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, Eudora Welty

Beatles, Rolling Stones, The Band, Bob Dylan, REM, U2, Avett Brothers

bluegrass, classical, opera

I love these things, they make me happy

but this isn’t the kind of love we find in 1 Cor.

Relationships

Family

my wife, Kazy

my sons, Paul, jack, Miller

my parents, sisters

extended family

This is getting closer to what the Bible says

loving relationships, commitment

remember what Jesus says:

nobody has greater love

than the one who will lay down their life for a friend

Love one another as I have loved you

Bridge: listen for what Paul is telling us about loving relationships

2. Tell the Story

Without love I am (we are) nothing

if I speak, even with the voice of an angel

but do not have love – I’m just making noise

If I have great powers, knowledge and faith

but do not have love – I’m nothing, I make no difference

If I give up all that I have

but do not have love – I am nothing, I don’t get it

We must understand that love is

patient, kind

not envious, boastful, or arrogant

does not insist on its own way

not irritable or resentful

does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in truth

love bears all things; believes all things, hopes … , endures …

love never ends

prophecies will come to an end, so will tongues, even knowledge

When I was a child

I spoke and thought like a child

as an adult, I put an end to childish ways

Now we see in a mirror dimly

then we will see face to face

now I know in part

then I will know fully

faith, hope, and love abide

the greatest of these is love

3. So What?

I read this passage a lot at weddings

it’s a wonderful reminder of how we ought to be with each other

but there are times …

when I feel like I should stop

say, “OK , y’all. Will somebody please read this to me.”

I find myself standing in front of some loving couple

giddy, crazy in love

reminding them of what the Bible says about love

… and realizing the ways I’ve been missing it

patient, kind – well, most of the time

not arrogant, envious, boastful – oops

not irritable – well, a lot of the time

I put an end to childish ways

“Oh, like the silent treatment, or saying ’you’re not the boss of me.?” Yeah, I guess so

God surely doesn’t need me to explain 1 Cor. 13 to anybody

it’s God’s Word and it’s a reminder to us

besides this, the most helpful description of love I heard lately is:

from Elie Wiesel (Holocaust survivor, Nobel Peace Prize winner)

The opposite of love is not hate, it’s indifference.
The opposite of art is not ugliness, it’s indifference.
The opposite of faith is not heresy, it’s indifference.
And the opposite of life is not death, it’s indifference.

the opposite of love is indifference – “I don’t care”

hate is bad, no doubt

but indifference is even worse

to think somebody doesn’t even matter

the Bible says without love, we’re nothing

without love, life doesn’t matter

song from Rent, my favorite show, asks

how do you measure a year?

daylights, sunsets, midnights

cups of coffee, inches, miles

525,600 minutes

How about love? Measure in love

how will you measure your life? or how will others measure …or God?

what you’ve accomplished?

how much you worked?

how much stuff you had?

how well I spoke?

without love, it’s all just making noise

Paul starts by telling us what love is not

not boastful, arrogant, etc.

Free-style to end, e.g.

the opposite of love is indifference

nothing more hurtful/hateful as indifference

seeing somebody/child of God suffering and not care, not be moved

Utter devastation in Haiti that we witness in the media every day

what can we do? there is so much need

can you imagine not being moved?

we can’t save the world – can’t do it all today

but we care

that’s the first step

that’s love

so we reach out – do what we can

pray

raise money, resources, supplies

imagine seeing some of the needs in our community and not caring

ministries started because somebody cared

Munch Bunch – food provided for 430 kids (Oct. 09 – Jan 10)

then he tells us what love us

recap list from 1 Cor. 13

descriptions of love besides Weisel

“We have all known the long loneliness and we have learned that the only solution is love and that love comes with community. It all happened while we sat there talking, and it is still going on.” Dorothy Day, The Long Loneliness

The only solution is love

that’s how we live in grateful response to God’s grace

Love, love, love

All you need is love

So let it be with us. Amen

3rd Sunday in Ordinary Time

Nehemiah 8:1-12

“Preaching too long”

1.  Way In

“Preaching too long”

go through the bit where I take off my watch and place it carefully and visibly on the upper edge of the pulpit

“Do you know what it means when a preacher takes their watch of and carefully puts it on the pulpit where they can keep an eye on it?”

“Do you know what that means?”

“Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

2.  Tell the Story

Context

Setting

Jews exiled to Babylon around 600 B.C..

Persians conquered Babylon 538 BC

permitted Jewish exiles to return to Israel

also permission to rebuild the temple

released in 539 BC

began temple rebuilding in 520

temple completed in 515

Today’s scripture reading has some strong preaching

at least some long preaching

the people gathered at the Water Gate

on the east side of Jerusalem

Ezra brought the Torah/Law of Moses and read from it

from early morning until noon

Ezra was standing on platform with 13 others

then the people bowed their heads and worshipped the Lord

then Ezra and the other teachers moved through the crowd helping the people understand the law, and interpreting it

scriptures don’t tell us how long that took

but it says that the people stayed put while all of this took place

3.  So What

I guess I shouldn’t say Ezra preached too long

but he did read the scriptures from early a.m till midday

then they worshipped and prayed

then they took time to explain the scriptures

Neh. does say that the people stayed put

4 – 5 – 6 hours

I shouldn’t say Ezra preached too long

but I think that’s too long for us

I know it’s too long for me

and I’m pretty sure it’s too long for you

I don’t know what the customary worship time was in Ezra’s day

maybe this wasn’t that unusual

but some of the details seem to indicate it was …

several mentions that the people were paying attention

and sticking around

as if this was a long time, but the people were unfazed

but this was a voluntary gathering

and they asked Ezra to come and read the Torah

The people were hungry, eager to hear the word of God. Why?

their wills were crushed

Jerusalem, their Holy City, was in ruins

temple destroyed

lands were barren, untended

My seminary professor, OT scholar W. Brueggemann

describes Israel as becoming too comfortable

in years before the exile …

take gifts from God for granted

land, security, abundance, prosperity

“prosperity causes amnesia … people don’t know who they are, what they’re expected to do, or to whom they’re accountable”

perhaps the half-century in exile re-sensitized them

which is why the return to Jerusalem sparked their collective memory

time spent without what God had provided restored their appreciation and acknowledgement

having done better at one time of their history,

Israel was re-sensitized to:

damage done to them and their city

dryness of Babylonian exile

harsh and brutal treatment at the hand of these and other enemies

struggle and conflict within their own community

They called Ezra, the scribe and priest to come and bring the scroll

books of Moses – the Law – Torah (the first 5 books of the Bible)

What did they hear? (Gen., Exo., Lev., Num., Deut.)

You know what’s here

Creation, covenant, restoration, release – Exodus, law: statutes and ordinances so that you may live long in the land of promise

when Israel heard covenant and law

they heard again God’s warning

… not to forget who it was that

delivered them from the hands of their slave masters in Egypt

led them and provided for them in the wilderness

gave them the land of promise

flowing with milk and honey

Nehemiah says that the people wept when they heard this

if you read on from here, you will see that the following chapter describes the confession and atonement of the people

realizing how far they had wandered …

they repented and were hungry for restoration

they wept for what they had lost

and out of their deep desire to be restored

the leaders in the rebuilding and restoration were Ezra (scribe/priest) and Nehemiah (governor/administrator)

This isn’t the time for weeping

you have heard the Law: statues and ordinances

celebrate your restored memory – eat the fat, drink the sweet wine

remember the poor

this day is holy

the joy of the Lord is your strength

and the people did what they said

they ate and drank

sent portions to those in need

rejoiced – for they understood the words of God

What does Nehemiah say for us?

I don’t want to preach too long

y’all may not be ready for 4 or 5 more hours

AND you have not been in exile, we haven’t been in Babylon

But I have heard some stories from you

you’ve told me about how changes in leadership over the years has made you feel …

un-tethered, unsettled, anxious about the future

There was definitely no exile here but maybe you felt a little forgotten – a little unsure

maybe, as life goes on you’re wondering if it’s happening again

another pastor arrives, hits the ground running

but maybe things aren’t working out just like you hoped

didn’t that happen before?

Well, I have good news

it’s not me – I’m not your hope

I am your pastor

the one you called

teacher, preacher, administrator, developer

and you are remembering

God’s promise to be your God

and your promise to be God’s people

spreading the good news of the gospel

mission, fellowship, outreach, education

The joy of the Lord is your strength

Remainder of message: freestyle following these thoughts (mostly)

I’ve been with you for about 1.5 years

think I’ve learned a few things about people & culture of Sidney

… history of the community

… about history of our church as a place of:

worship, praise, and fellowship to the Lord our God

ministry and service in His name

community and world

learned about how the people have always helped each other out

Here’s what I think

This church is willing to trust in the ministry of the pastor God calls to this parish

follow and participate as you are able

accept responsibility of taking initiative when you feel God calling you to a particular ministry

willing to work to provide resources and “take care of business” as needed

When considering a new ministry or activity …

acknowledge that when there is uncertainty, it’s possible to proceed because

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS YOUR STRENGTH

and when it’s this way

there’s no need to be ruled by fear and reluctance

Ezra brought a word of encouragement and remembrance from the scriptures to Israel – and he brings it to us

more here about creation, covenant, restoration, and redemption …

as we proceed

with care

and prayer

it is not our fear and uncertainty that guides us, because:

THE JOY OF THE LORD IS OUR STRENGTH

that joy and strength never leaves us

so be bold

be courageous

don’t be afraid to even be a little pushy

God is doing something here – now

let us listen

let us follow

let us trust

and let us go where God is leading

the joy of the Lord is our strength

so let it be with us. Amen

2nd Sunday in Ordinary Time

1.  Way In

Who regifts?

my exp.

yours?

2.  Tell the Story

Context

Paul’s letter to the church at Corinth

talk what was going on there

the church learning about being in the world

… about faith and life

The text

Spiritual gifts?   a new idea

“I do not want you to be uninformed”

back before you knew the Lord, “when you were pagans”

you paid attention to mute idols

and those speaking by the Spirit of God do not curse God

… and it is only through the same Spirit that we claim Jesus as Lord

About these gifts:

there are varieties:

varieties of gifts – ways of serving – ways of living

but the same Spirit – the same Lord – it’s all God

all are for the same thing – objective

the common good

Examples – all are “by the Spirit” – all are from God

wisdom, the speaking of wisdom and of knowledge

faith

healing

working of miracles

prophecy

discernment of spirits

speaking in tongues, interpretation of tongues

all come from the same Spirit and are given as gifts

3.  So What

What’s your spiritual gift?

kind of a loaded question

what if you can’t think of anything?

I can’t do any miracles

except sometimes just getting up out of bed seems like one

or making myself look halfway presentable some days

I never healed anybody.  have you?

you never saw me on TV healing people

making somebody get up out of their wheelchair

… throw away their walker or cane

or curing somebody from a disease

although I heard John Geissler from Agape talk about healing

he actually HAS experienced God’s healing

in people he has prayed over

and seen illness go away, or deformities become correct

yet he is the first to tell you, “I am not a healer”

   he’s only acting on behalf of God

      the conduit for God’s Spirit

I don’t speak in tongues

in the “spiritual” sense

there have been times, esp. when I lived in New York

when my southern accent has seemed like another language

but you have heard about people speaking in tongues

ever actually heard it?

Me neither.  Only once, in a documentary about snake handling

another “curious” church activity

the same for prophecy

maybe I predicted something

foretold it …

but I’m talking about a biblical prophet

proclaiming back to God’s way

Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel

not so much “telling the future/how things will be”

as telling how things need to be

kind of a loaded question

what if you can’t do any of those things?

are you bereft of spiritual gifts?

or if you can do one, is that all you can do?

are you spiritually pigeonholed

some denominations hold firm in these gifts

and a lot of what you can or can’t do in church are determined by what your gifts are

and there are certain ones in the church who can determine these

so you can imagine the power structure that emerges

around the exhibition of spiritual gifts

certain places where your status in church depends on

    your spiritual gifts

can you imagine how power and status would be incentives

… to have and use (rather “exhibit”) certain gifts

1 Corinthians isn’t the only source, you can find others listed

teaching, exhortation, giving, leading, mercy, pastoral

one gift that stands out in this list

not much said here about that one

seems kind of played down – especially when there is status around what your gifts are

i.e. when you don’t want everybody having gifts

everybody can’t have all the status or power

One gift we all have – FAITH

Hebrews, assurance of things hoped for

better world

kingdom of heaven

peace

Faith – against evidence to the contrary

we still work for these things

we’re all the same

no hierarchy here

no evidence of stronger or better gifts

no struggle over who has more gifts

maybe some of us have specialized training

even specialized education, ordination

which gives us certain responsibilities

but under that we’re all the same

(takes off robe to reveal jeans, Sesame Street t-shirt, Converse hi-tops underneath – dressed this way for the rest of church)

regular people

doing the best we can – ‘til we all get better – ‘til we can’t

getting up every day

trying to make a difference

make things better in our corner of the world – and beyond

we’re regular people, but we can make a difference in Haiti

it’s because we follow God

with whom nothing is impossible

a way out of no way

free people out of slaves

people of faith out of pagans/heathens

something special out of you and me

a miracle-working and powerful God

who came among the people

to show us the way

Faith

the gift we all have to follow God

and to DO like Jesus teaches

and that’s the regifting part

because when we do like Jesus teaches

we build each other up

and we-together, we are the church – the Body of Christ

and this is how we work towards the common good

to bring about change in the world

peace where there is war

food where there is hunger

love where there is have – worse yet, apathy

the common good

that is where we re-gift our faith

so let it be with us.  Amen

Baptism of the Lord

Luke 3:15-22

Remember Your Baptism

1.  Way In

I have been looking at a lot of my stuff lately

I have a room in our house

basement

desk, table, desk chair, comfy reading/sleeping chair, bookcases

been going through my stuff – putting it around my room – scanning it to computer photo album

pictures, books, HS yearbook

arrowheads and pottery shards I found by the TN River

great-great grandfather’s dresser is in the next room

his snuff box

grandfather’s shaving brush and straight razor

grandfathers monk statues

he wasn’t a monk, obviously

but he had 2 little statues – one at home, one here in my office

Kazy has been going through a lot of photos, too

putting a lot of them on line

Remember

this has been an exercise in remembering

… or trying to remember

who was that in that photo?

what’s that kids name?

whose house is that?
where did I get those pants?

remember

this is a certain kind of remembering

not like remembering to take out the trash

remembering to get some coffee or bread

not like the computer app – Remember the milk.com

Re-member

re-join, re-connect

get back together with that which you have been apart

Bible some 300x

God said to Noah, “I will remember my covenant”

Moses told the Israelites, “Remember this day when you

came out of Egypt, out of the house of slavery”

Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy

Remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age

Bridge

Remember your baptism

I don’t mean try to recall the date, or who was there, or who the preacher was

On the day we remember the baptism of Jesus …

John’s announcement of the Messiah

and God’s powerful announcement and claim,

“You are my son, I am proud of you.”

re-connect with your baptism

re-join with the day the Lord marked you

… with power in living water

… marking you as his own

2.  Tell the Story

John the Baptist

Herod threw John in prison

John named Herod’s evil and wickedness

not simply a ‘religious leader’

prophet reminding the people of God’s kingdom

a threat to Herod’s power

specifically, here

his marriage

evil deeds

John wouldn’t stop John from prophesying and speaking out

so Herod “shut him up” in prison

John wasn’t afraid of Herod

not afraid of Herod’s power

nor afraid of his tendency to behead the opposition

John never wavered from pointing away from himself

and pointing to Jesus – announcing him

Herod could shut John up in prison

but he could never take away the hope for the people when John spoke truth to power

John’s ministry was to proclaim the Kingdom of God

announcing the coming Messiah

baptizing the people

marking them as made in the image of God

and with the hope of new life

In the waters of baptism

John baptized the people

the ones who heard his message of truth and hope

in the face of the evil and tyranny of Herod’s rule

and Rome’s occupation

for these were not the final words

heaven has opened up

even as evil tries to take away the good news

lock it up – lock it away

shut it up

God brings new life

heaven opens up

God has come among us

bringing hope

renewing power in the world

The ones who were baptized that day were marked

as God’s own, made in God’s image

beloved, even as God’s son is

God has made us for himself

and marked us as his own, and beloved

3.  So What?

It’s no different for us

we bear the same Good News

Jesus has come among us

and the kingdom of heaven is …

greater than any effort to shut it up

(moved to the baptismal font at this point, delivered comments from there about grace and God’s claim upon us.  Dipping hands into the water and letting the water fall back in loudly, and messy)

Recalled Luke’s text and connecting us with God calling us by name, too.  Making eye contact with people in the congregation as God says “(their name), I am proud of you”

(freestyle delivery, still at font, following these thoughts)

Power of God – we’re marked with it in baptism

An ancient Christian catechism describes baptism as a “visible sign of invisible grace.” By the grace of God, we are surrounded and upheld every day.  The great Protestant Martin Luther was plagued at times by a sense of unworthiness and despair.  To drive back those demons, he kept an inscription over his desk that read, “Remember, you have been baptized.”  Often, he would touch his forehead and remind himself, “Martin, you have been baptized.”

Before I prepared this message for you, I had told Luther’s story any number of times, but I had never touched my own forehead.  I had never reminded myself in a physical way that I too have been baptized–cleansed and forgiven, claimed and sanctified, sealed by God’s own Spirit and given my new, everlasting identity in Christ.  I recommend that you take a moment, touch your own forehead, and remind yourself that you are a child of God. Baptized or not yet baptized, you are a beloved child of God.

(Back to the pulpit for the conclusion)

We use ordinary water for baptism.  But what power it has when God uses it.

Power.

· Where do you find the power to keep going every day?

· Where do you find the power to even get out of bed some days?

· Where do you find the power to continue to believe in love in a world that is filled with hate?

· Where do you find the power to continue to believe in, to even work for peace in a world that is addicted to violence?

· Where do you find the power to continue to believe in good as unimaginable horror and wickedness comes with each page we turn in the newspaper?

· Where do you find the power to continue to believe that ultimately God’s kingdom will come and God’s will, as revealed in Jesus, will be done in all of the creation?

· Where do you find the power to be a disciple of Jesus in this world?

But you see, these things are not the last word.  That’s why Jesus teaches us a new way of living.  We don’t have to believe that violence and evil are the last words, because God in Christ shows a new way to live in the face of all that.  Let the fanatics who rave about these things on radio and TV have these wicked things, let the paranoid editorial writers rail on new world orders and whine about their moral dogma.

We have been empowered by the powerful Spirit of God.  We may not change the whole world in our lifetime, we may not even change anybody else, but when we remember the power of God and the mark of our baptism, we remember that we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to:

think more clearly,

feel more deeply,

love more generously,

speak more truthfully,

serve more faithfully,

give more lavishly,

live more fully.

That is the power of God, marked in the water of our baptism.  Maybe you will notice the baptism font as you leave, there’s water in it, feel the water on your way out and remember your baptism.  Put a little bit on your forehead if you like.  Remember the power of God in your baptism.  Common water, but what power it has when God uses it.

So may it be with us.  Amen.

Epiphany

 

Read Jeremiah, as listed in bulletin

Read Matthew when I get to it in the sermon (sect. II.)

 

Way In

Introduction

Two readings today

2^nd Sunday after Christmas (today)

Jeremiah

Epiphany (1/6/10)

Mark

don’t think I’ll see y’all on Wednesday (Jan. 6)

so, today – spend a little time with both readings

Tell the Story

Epiphany reading – Matthew 2:1-12

ἐπιφάνεια   epiphaneia

appearance/manifestation

visitation of magi to Jesus

arrived after Jesus’ birth

The “Magi” from the east

educated, scientists, wealthy

also called kings, “we three kings of orient are”

well-respected by Gentiles

how many of them?

3 gifts = 3 magi/kings

some traditions say  12 (12 tribes)

Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar

names not from Bible, but tradition

from about 8^th century

some traditions give them names that sound more Persian (eastern)

not religious, not Jewish, spiritual

knew prophecy from education

followed the star known by prophecy and knowledge of astronomy

King Herod, reign 37BC-4BC

not a Jew, appointed as king by Rome

known to have killed family

wife, 3 sons, mother-in-law, brother-in-law, uncle

builder of temples, amphitheaters, monuments, forts

best known for rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem

20BC, project began (completed 64AD)

destroyed by Rome 70AD

tyrant, not pleased to hear talk about a “new king”

Magi’s journey brought them through Jerusalem

their arrival would have been noticed by Herod

Herod also head of the king they were seeking

Conflict

Herod: saw the king as a threat

seeking to build up himself. his reign

Magi: seeking truth – meaning of the star

brought gifts – the best

worshipped the new king – bowed down

 before the new king

Magi warned by Spirit about Herod

Herod wanted to get rid of new king

“death of the innocents”

they returned “home by another way”

Jeremiah – Sunday reading

prophet well before the time of Christ (6^th century BC)

calling the people back to faithful worship of God (Yahweh)

Egypt and Babylon had overshadowed their worship

this Jeremiah reading

affirmation of God’s action to save Israel

grace and steadfast love

hope to the exiles (Babylon)

in the midst of despair and hopelessness

 

exhorts the people to praise God

listen for God’s promises

images of God as shepherd and father

So What?

We have seen the Lord

Christ the newborn king

born in a barn/manger

true king; shepherd, father

feared by Herod, worshipped by Magi

worshiped

The anointed one – Messiah, “God with us”

born of truth and light

God promise from the start to redeem his people

in the Messiah

We are seeking – like the Magi/Wise Men

truth, meaning in our lives

we know the source is something greater than ourselves

led to truth like the Magi

We are conflicted

Herod kept from true worship of Jesus

pride and greed

unwilling to give up any of himself

we’re not anywhere near as bad as Herod

but what holds us back from fully submitting to God in Christ

any of this there?

any ego?  desire for control?

Conclusion

as we celebrate the birth of Jesus: love, grace, truth

we reflect on the community we are called to by the prophet

spend the rest of this church year

reflecting on being people of God

strengthening relationships: God, each other, neighbors

gathered

called by God to come and see

to worship Christ, the king, the Messiah

to proclaim his rule in our lives

let us follow faithfully, like the Magi

seeking truth

following God

gathered in order to be sent out

as witnesses to and agents of the love of Jesus Christ

in worship of God

in fellowship with each other

in mission – reaching out to a world in need

of God’s healing, wholeness, and community

So may it be with us.  Amen

Christmas Eve 11pm

On Christmas Eve, the advent candles have all been lit.

            The Christ candle is lit

            Carols have been sung and lessons have been read.

At home, food has been prepared and shared.

            Family is near, or is coming near, or is remembered with love.

            Decorations are out, wreaths and evergreens are hung.

            Ornamennts, garland, maybe popcorn and cranberries are hung.

            Presents are exchanged and wrapped or under the tree.

                        Your homes are decorated,

                        and you have found the places in town

                                    that have the best decorations to drive by.

At church, we have enjoyed special music

            and greeted old friends

            We have prepared our hearts for communion

                        and for the coming of our Lord

                        even as we acknowledge his presence among us.

The gospel account of the birth of Jesus has been read and re-read

            And favorite Christmas stories have been shared.

What then is left to do?

            What remains to be preached?

            Well, by now, if there are Christmas preparations you have yet to make –

                        I don’t think they’re going to get done.

            But the good news to proclaim – that’s what preaching is,

                        is the coming birth of the Christ child;

                        the good news of great joy proclaimed by the angels.

                                    Of the shepherds who came to see this promised savior.

            Let us hear the words and be amazed

                        Let us hear the words,

                                    treasuring them and pondering them in our hearts with Mary

                         And let us return with the shepherds

                                    glorifying and praising all that we have seen…

                                                and praising God.

A preacher has written an affirmation  for Christmas Eve that I would like to share

            I believe in Christmas.

          I believe that God sends light into the dark corners of our lives.

            That in then lonely and cold moments,

              God comes with a message of good news.

           I believe that God’s good news sweeps away all of the world’s bad news

                 like a broom sweeps away dust.

                  God brings hope in the midst of despair.

                  God brings healing in the midst of illness.

                  God brings peace in the midst of strife and solace to the mourning.

                  God brings power to the weak.

                God brings companionship to the lonely and family to the forgotten.

                God brings justice for the oppressed and liberty for the captive.

              Most of all, God brings new life in the midst of death.

          I believe in Christmas.

            I believe that God continues to work in our lives today

                    through this story of Christ’s birth so long ago.
           

We are like the shepherds,

         startled to hear the good news of the angels,

         but eager to go and see for ourselves.

We are like Mary,

       aware that somehow God is using us

      to accomplish things too big to imagine.

 We are like Joseph,

     not understanding fully what God calls us to do,

     but following as faithfully as we can.

We like the innkeeper,

    busy and frazzled,

    but making some room, somehow, for God to be born.

We are like the Wisemen,

   on a journey of discovery,

 bearing gifts to be given to glorify God.

Let us also be like the angel,

      proclaiming in our own lives,
      the glorious good news

       that God has come into the world

       and we shall never be the same.

  I believe in Christmas and with our lives today

       and throughout the year to come,

       let us proclaim that Christ is born,

        that Christmas is here,

      God’s kingdom is here

      and God is with us! Amen

Christmas Eve 7pm

Intro

      playing in the house early one morning with Pauly

            Mommy left the room for a moment

            P. went to find her

            you know how 2 year-olds, once they’re mobile

                       they don’t walk anywhere – they run

           Pauly tripped and fell and hit his lip on a sharp corner

           when I got to him and picked him up -

                    he looked like  a train wreck

                       his lip was bleeding

           at first he cried a little

               then when he saw the blood

                     (and probably my face)

                          he started really crying, bawling

That’s how it goes sometimes,

            going along, minding your own business, looking for Mommy

              Boom!  you fall down

                and it hurts

                    then there’s blood

                      even Daddy seems scared

Cry

many times in scripture, somebody cries out to God

       God “when you cry out, I listen”

              God cannot help but hear the cries

                   God is close to the brokenhearted

There’s a mistaken idea that:

          God is for people who have e it all together

              Christians have it all together

          salvation means I’m perfect

          but scriptures say that we cry out, we don’t have it all together

             I will take on your burden

             I’m not looking for the healthy, I came for the sick

hurt

  from Pauly’s perspective

           the hurt is  all he knows

              that is all his reality

  what he doesn’t understand is that I will do anything for him

            take him and pull him close

                hold against my heart

           whisper assurance

             over and over

                  “You’re going to make it.  I love you.”

             I know that I will do anything

                   Did you get hurt?  Are you injured?  Is it not going like you hope?

do you  wonder about God

           how God let you go through that

            how God let you fall down and bust your lip open

                      so you had to take an ambulance ride

            how God allows the hurt?

That’s the time God is closest

              Like Mommy or Daddy holding Pauly close

                  We love you, we’re here

            How either of us would trade places in a minute

                to take on his pain

                 to calm his fear

 

That’s what it means to think of the birth of Jesus Christ

            (like the song) sweet little Jesus boy

                  we can go on all night, talking theologically about the nativity

                      the miracle of Jesus’ birth , the miracle of Mary

             But this is what it comes down to

                God has visited us in the person of Jesus Christ

                    so that humankind can know the human face of our Lord

                        and the tradition of faith that has continued since

              the ones who knew our Lord face-to-face

                 is the assurance that

                   we are all God’s children

                       each of us, in our own condition

                          we don’t have it all together

                 maybe we look like it

                       or spend a lot of time trying to look like we do

          more likely there is a part of us that feels broken,

               abandoned, confused, angry

On this night, which is full of the spirit of love and joy, anyway

           allow yourself to get caught up in the moment

              imagine yourself as a 2 year-old child

                  you fell and cut your lip

                     it’s bleeding…real bad

                           and it hurts

                    now imagine being taken up by the one who loves you best

                       mommy, daddy, nanny, pop, grandmommy

                          …. you know who it is

                      remember this is the person who would do anything for you

                              trade places with you if they could

                                or hold you close to their heart,

                                   rub your head, hold your hand

                                     and say

                                           it’s okay

                                           I love you

                                           I’m here

So God sent his son, a child of  a woman, a child – born in a barn

         born to take us in and make of us a family

                sent to call us together as a family made complete by his love

                     and has called us to reach out with love and forgiveness

                          so that the world may be changed

                               into a place of peace and love

             And when the task seems too much

                  or we feel alone and confused

                     may God – the Creator of the universe

                        take you up

                             into everlasting arms of love

                                and hold you near to his heart

                                    just as the most loving parent you can imagine

                                          it’s okay

                                          I love you

                                          I’m here

Because there’s no guarantee you won’t fall down

   that you won’t get hurt

             But there is a guarantee that when you do

                    you’ll never fall alone

                         “Behold, I bring you good news of great joy

                          to you a child is born this day …

                         a Savior who is Christ the Lord

                        This will be a sign for you

                          you will find a child wrapped in swaddling clothes

                             and lying in a  manger.”

        May we always remember what it means to be

                the precious child

                       taken up into God’s loving arms

                              And may we always remember

                                   to respond as faithful children

                                      spreading the same good news

                                            to everybody we meet

                                             by the way we live our lives,

 

                                                So may it be with us.  Amen

4th Sunday in Advent

Luke 1:39-55, “Magnificat”

 

May we also sing Mary’s song of utter joy.  May we know relationships with God and one another that are expressions of God’s love.

 

“A Christmas Memory” is said to describe the relationship between Truman Capote and his elderly cousin, Sook.  They are each other’s unlikely best friends whose devotion and affection are complete.  I pray that “Magnificat” and “Memory” will remind us that the joy we know in God’s steadfast love is too precious not to share with others.  We had story time in church today.

 

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A Christmas Memory

by Truman Capote (1924-1984)

appeared in Mademoiselle Magazine, December 1956

redacted here for telling in about fifteen minutes

 

Imagine a morning in late November.  A coming of winter morning more than twenty years ago.  Consider the kitchen of a spreading old house in a country town.  A great black stove is its main feature; but there is also a big round table and a fireplace with two rocking chairs placed in front of it.  Just today the fireplace commenced its seasonal roar.

 

A woman with shorn white hair is standing at the kitchen window.  She is wearing tennis shoes and a shapeless gray sweater over a summery calico dress.  She is small and sprightly, like a bantam hen; but due to a long youthful illness, her shoulders are pitifully hunched.  Her face is remarkable—not unlike Lincoln’s, craggy like that, and tinted by sun and wind; but it is delicate too, finely boned, and her eyes are sherry-colored and timid.  “Oh my,” she exclaims, her breath smoking the windowpane, “it’s fruitcake weather!”

 

The person to whom she is speaking is myself.  I am seven; she is sixty-something, We are cousins, very distant ones, and we have lived together—well, as long as I can remember.  Other people inhabit the house, relatives; and though they have power over us, and frequently make us cry, we are not, on the whole, too much aware of them.  We are each other’s best friend.  She calls me Buddy, in memory of a boy who was formerly her best friend.  The other Buddy died in the 1880’s, when she was still a child.  She is still a child.

 

It’s always the same: a morning arrives in November, and my friend, as though officially inaugurating the Christmas time of year that exhilarates her imagination and fuels the blaze of her heart, announces: “It’s fruitcake weather! Fetch our buggy. Help me find my hat.”

 

The hat is found, a straw cartwheel corsaged with velvet roses out-of-doors has faded: it once belonged to a more fashionable relative. Together, we guide our buggy, a dilapidated baby carriage, out to the garden and into a grove of pecan trees. The buggy is mine; that is, it was bought for me when I was born. It is made of wicker, rather unraveled, and the wheels wobble like a drunkard’s legs. But it is a faithful object; springtimes, we take it to the woods and fill it with flowers, herbs, wild fern for our porch pots; in the summer, we pile it with picnic paraphernalia and sugar-cane fishing poles and roll it down to the edge of a creek; it has its winter uses, too: as a truck for hauling firewood from the yard to the kitchen, as a warm bed for Queenie, our tough little orange and white rat terrier who has survived distemper and two rattlesnake bites.

 

Three hours later we are back in the kitchen hulling a heaping buggyload of windfall pecans. Our backs hurt from gathering them: how hard they were to find (the main crop having been shaken off the trees and sold by the orchard’s owners, who are not us) among the concealing leaves, the frosted, deceiving grass. Caarackle! A cheery crunch, scraps of miniature thunder sound as the shells collapse and the golden mound of sweet oily ivory meat mounts in the milk-glass bowl. Queenie begs to taste, and now and again my friend sneaks her a mite, though insisting we deprive ourselves. “We mustn’t, Buddy. If we start, we won’t stop. And there’s scarcely enough as there is. For thirty cakes.” The kitchen is growing dark. Dusk turns the window into a mirror: our reflections mingle with the rising moon as we work by the fireside in the firelight. At last, when the moon is quite high, we toss the final hull into the fire and, with joined sighs, watch it catch flame. The buggy is empty, the bowl is brimful.

 

We eat our supper (cold biscuits, bacon, blackberry jam) and discuss tomorrow. Tomorrow the kind of work I like best begins: buying. Cherries and citron, ginger and vanilla and canned Hawaiian pine-apple, rinds and raisins and walnuts and whiskey and oh, so much flour, butter, so many eggs, spices, flavorings: why, we’ll need a pony to pull the buggy home.

 

But before these Purchases can be made, there is the question of money. Neither of us has any.

 

But one way and another we do each year accumulate Christmas savings, a Fruitcake Fund. These moneys we keep hidden in an ancient bead purse under a loose board under the floor under a chamber pot under my friend’s bed. The purse is seldom removed from this safe location except to make a deposit or, as happens every Saturday, a withdrawal; for on Saturdays I am allowed ten cents to go to the picture show. My friend has never been to a picture show, nor does she intend to: “I’d rather hear you tell the story, Buddy. That way I can imagine it more. Besides, a person my age shouldn’t squander their eyes. When the Lord comes, let me see him clear.”

 

Now, with supper finished, we retire to the room in a faraway part of the house where my friend sleeps in a scrap-quilt-covered iron bed painted rose pink, her favorite color. Silently, wallowing in the pleasures of conspiracy, we take the bead purse from its secret place and spill its contents on the scrap quilt. Dollar bills, tightly rolled and green as May buds. Somber fifty-cent pieces, heavy enough to weight a dead man’s eyes. Lovely dimes, the liveliest coin, the one that really jingles. Nickels and quarters, worn smooth as creek pebbles. But mostly a hateful heap of bitter-odored pennies. Last summer others in the house contracted to pay us a penny for every twenty-five flies we killed. Oh, the carnage of August: the flies that flew to heaven! Yet it was not work in which we took pride.

 

Neither of us has a head for figures; we count slowly, lose track, start again. According to her calculations, we have $12.73. According to mine, exactly $13. “I do hope you’re wrong, Buddy. We can’t mess around with thirteen. The cakes will fall. Or put somebody in the cemetery. Why, I wouldn’t dream of getting out of bed on the thirteenth.” This is true: she always spends thirteenths in bed. So, to be on the safe side, we subtract a penny and toss it out the window.

 

The black stove, stoked with coal and firewood, glows like a lighted pumpkin. Eggbeaters whirl, spoons spin round in bowls of butter and sugar, vanilla sweetens the air, ginger spices it; melting, nose-tingling odors saturate the kitchen, suffuse the house, drift out to the world on puffs of chimney smoke. In four days our work is done. Thirty-one cakes, dampened with whiskey, bask on windowsills and shelves.

 

Who are they for?

 

Friends. Not necessarily neighbor friends: indeed, the larger share is intended for persons we’ve met maybe once, perhaps not at all. People who’ve struck our fancy. Like President Roosevelt. Like the Reverend and Mrs. J. C. Lucey, Baptist missionaries to Borneo who lectured here last winter. Or the little knife grinder who comes through town twice a year. Or Abner Packer, the driver of the six o’clock bus from Mobile, who exchanges waves with us every day as he passes in a dust-cloud whoosh. Or the young Wistons, a California couple whose car one afternoon broke down outside the house and who spent a pleasant hour chatting with us on the porch (young Mr. Wiston snapped our picture, the only one we’ve ever had taken). Is it because my friend is shy with everyone except strangers that these strangers, and merest acquaintances, seem to us our truest friends? I think yes. Also, the scrapbooks we keep of thank-you’s on White House stationery, time-to-time communications from California and Borneo, the knife grinder’s penny post cards, make us feel connected to eventful worlds beyond the kitchen with its view of a sky that stops.

 

 

After weaving and ribboning holly wreaths for all the front windows, our next project is the fashioning of family gifts. Tie-dye scarves for the ladies, for the men a homebrewed lemon and licorice and aspirin syrup to be taken “at the first Symptoms of a Cold and after Hunting.” But when it comes time for making each other’s gift, my friend and I separate to work secretly. I would like to buy her a pearl-handled knife, a radio, a whole pound of chocolate-covered cherries (we tasted some once, and she always swears: “I could live on them, Buddy, Lord yes I could—and that’s not taking his name in vain”). Instead, I am building her a kite.

 

She would like to give me a bicycle (she’s said so on several million occasions: “If only I could, Buddy. It’s bad enough in life to do without something you want; but confound it, what gets my goat is not being able to give somebody something you want them to have. Only one of these days I will, Buddy. Locate you a bike. Don’t ask how. Steal it, maybe”). Instead, I’m fairly certain that she is building me a kite—the same as last year and the year before: the year before that we exchanged slingshots. All of which is fine by me. For we are champion kite fliers who study the wind like sailors.

 

When bedtime arrives I can hardly stand it.  I kick the covers and turn my pillow as though it were a scorching summer’s night.

 

“Buddy, are you awake!” It is my friend, calling from her room, which is next to mine; and an instant later she is sitting on my bed holding a candle. “Well, I can’t sleep a hoot,” she declares. “My mind’s jumping like a jack rabbit. Buddy, do you think Mrs. Roosevelt will serve our cake at dinner?” We huddle in the bed, and she squeezes my hand I-love-you. “Seems like your hand used to be so much smaller. I guess I hate to see you grow up. When you’re grown up, will we still be friends?” I say always.

 

“But I feel so bad, Buddy. I wanted so bad to give you a bike. I tried to sell my cameo Papa gave me. Buddy”—she hesitates, as though embarrassed—”I made you another kite.” Then I confess that I made her one, too; and we laugh.

 

Possibly we doze; but the beginnings of dawn splash us like cold water: we’re up, wide-eyed and wandering while we wait for others to waken. Quite deliberately my friend drops a kettle on the kitchen floor. I tap-dance in front of closed doors. One by one the household emerges, looking as though they’d like to kill us both; but it’s Christmas, so they can’t. First, a gorgeous breakfast: just everything you can imagine—from flapjacks and fried squirrel to hominy grits and honey-in-the-comb. Frankly, we’re so impatient to get at the presents we can’t eat a mouthful.

 

Well, I’m disappointed. Who wouldn’t be? With socks, a Sunday school shirt, some handkerchiefs, a hand-me-down sweater, and a year’s subscription to a religious magazine for children. The Little Shepherd. It makes me boil. It really does.

 

My friend has a better haul. A sack of satsumas, that’s her best present. She is proudest, however, of a white wool shawl knitted by her married sister. But she says her favorite gift is the kite I built her. And it is very beautiful; though not as beautiful as the one she made me, which is blue and scattered with gold and green Good Conduct stars; moreover, my name is painted on it, “Buddy.”

 

“Buddy, the wind is blowing.”

 

The wind is blowing, and nothing will do till we’ve run to a Pasture below the house .There, plunging through the healthy waist-high grass, we unreel our kites, feel them twitching at the string like sky fish as they swim into the wind. Satisfied, sun-warmed, we sprawl in the grass and peel satsumas and watch our kites cavort. Soon I forget the socks and hand-me-down sweater. I’m as happy as if we’d already won the fifty-thousand-dollar Grand Prize in that coffee-naming contest we entered in June.

 

“My, how foolish I am!” my friend cries, suddenly alert, like a woman remembering too late she has biscuits in the oven. “You know what I’ve always thought?” she asks in a tone of discovery and not smiling at me but a point beyond. “I’ve always thought a body would have to be sick and dying before they saw the Lord. And I imagined that when he came it would be like looking at the Baptist window: pretty as colored glass with the sun pouring through, such a shine you don’t know it’s getting dark. And it’s been a comfort: to think of that shine taking away all the spooky feeling. But I’ll wager it never happens. I’ll wager at the very end a body realizes the Lord has already shown Himself. That things as they are”—her hand circles in a gesture that gathers clouds and kites and grass—”just what they’ve always seen, was seeing Him. As for me, I could leave the world with today in my eyes.”

This is our last Christmas together.

 

Life separates us. Those who Know Best decide that I belong in a military school. And so follows a miserable succession of bugle-blowing prisons, grim reveille-ridden summer camps. I have a new home too. But it doesn’t count. Home is where my friend is, and there I never go.

 

And there she remains, puttering around the kitchen. Alone with Queenie. Then alone… For a few Novembers she continues to bake her fruitcakes single-handed; not as many, but some: and, of course, she always sends me “the best of the batch.” Also, in every letter she encloses a dime wadded in toilet paper: “See a picture show and write me the story.” But gradually in her letters she tends to confuse me with her other friend, the Buddy who died in the 1880’s; more and more, thirteenths are not the only days she stays in bed: a morning arrives in November, a leafless birdless coming of winter morning, when she cannot rouse herself to exclaim: “Oh my, it’s fruitcake weather! “

 

And when that happens, I know it. A message saying so merely confirms a piece of news some secret vein had already received, severing from me an irreplaceable part of myself, letting it loose like a kite on a broken string. That is why, walking across a school campus on this particular December morning, I keep searching the sky. As if I expected to see, rather like hearts, a lost pair of kites hurrying toward heaven.

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3rd Sunday of Advent

Luke 3:7-18, Philippians 4:4-7

1.  Way In

This is not the sermon I turned in for the bulletin

Thursday I decided to step away from the lectionary this week

Today’s sermon is about prayer – in particular, answered prayer

and it’s about grace

and it’s about God, and God with us

God with us, from laWnM’[

so this is an Advent sermon

There’s a drawing on the wall at the Open Door Community

There are 2 people in it

wealthy-looking man driving an expensive car down the road

he is driving through a mud puddle in the road

splashing mud all over the second character

homeless man sitting on the curb

covered in mud and water after being splashed by the driver

caption shows both men’s thoughts at the moment

both are saying, “there but by the grace of God go I.”

the rich driver grateful that God has blessed him

with wealth and “the good life”

the homeless man seems grateful

for not being greedy and uncaring like the mud-splashing driver

the rich driver seems to believe that he is the recipient of God’s grace

and the man on the curb has missed God’s grace; or he would be rich, too

Like I said before, this is a week where the sermon isn’t what I thought it would be

looking first at the gospel reading for the 3^rd Sunday in Advent

John the Baptist preparing the way for the coming of the Messiah

but since  Thursday, I have been thinking more about the epistle, Phil. 4:6

“do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be make known to God.”

Thursday’s headline in the Sidney Daily News, “Levy Passes”

this is good news for the children

classes and programs are funded

busing and services are improved

surely God is pleased for the children, too

has God answered the prayers of the “yes” voters?

but the levy passed by one vote: 4,452 to 4,451

were the “no” voters praying, too?

a colleague said they heard prayers being lifted up

people on a fixed income

concerned about how they would pay their taxes

surely there were prayers being offered

perhaps even more so as the election date neared

then as votes were recounted

perhaps more prayers then

as anxieties grew on both sides

“keep on praying,” “pray harder, pray more”

did one side finally convince God of the right thing to do?

did God turn away from the “no” voters?

and smile on the “yes” voters?

If the passing of the levy is the answer of prayers, is it over?

is this like winning the state championship?

surely both sides pray to win the game

and the winning team gets the trophy

… a sign of their victory

… a sign of God’s favor

then what?

the game is over

the trophy goes on the shelf

if that team doesn’t win next year, what happened?

did they fall out of God’s favor over the year?  who sinned?

what if neither the “yes” nor “no” victory was God’s answer?

what if the answer is that our work is not done?

do we presume that our system of making decisions is complete/perfect?

that we work out the options, make our plans, then ask God’s blessing on it

as if God’s only choice is to cast the ultimate tie-breaking vote

2.  Relate the Scripture

Listen again to what Paul writes in Philippians

in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God

then it doesn’t say, then the side that wears God down the most, or prays the loudest, or prays from the right church will win

then Paul writes, “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

3.  So What?

Prayer is important

going before God is important

prayer brings us where we belong

on our knees before God

with supplication and thanksgiving

somebody said that we never stand as tall as when we fall to our knees before Gods takes us down not up

when we pray we describe our need and sing God’s praise

but it doesn’t stop there

The side whose prayers match the outcome walks away with more

not just the trophy of answered prayer

in fact, you can find more examples of God’s most faithful people suffering persecution than enjoying lives of ease

our struggle has never been easy

God heard the Hebrew children cry out from slavery in Egypt

and God set them free from their cruel master

yet their life as the chosen people has not always been the life of ease and comfort

yet there is worship and joy in God’s presence

Paul writes in Romans that, for God’s sake, “we are being killed all day long, we are accounted as sheep to be slaughtered,” but this does not separate us from the love of God, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.” (Rom. 8:36-37)

The school levy passing in Sidney is a contest over who could pray the most

the “yes” voters are more than conquerors

in fact, both “yes” and “no” voters are more than what vote they cast

as the church was being formed in the book of Acts, Peter proclaims:

“I truly understand that God shows no partiality, but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him. (Acts 10:34-35)

Our work as Christians is not done when the votes are counted

in fact, our work has just begun

this vote is an important step along the journey, but it does not set the course for Sidney Schools

there will be other votes, other budgets, other crises

and our responsibility as people of faith is not to just turn out at election time

If we believe the Bible, and truly want to follow Jesus, let us hear the words of Paul and Peter

let us realize and claim that we are not just called to pray and gloat when we “win”

but to realize that much is expected from the ones who have much

to remain faithful to God’s word

act like we believe there is no partiality

and understand that God’s favor rests upon the ones who:

do what is right and acceptable before him

as Micah reminds us:

do justice, love kindness, walk humbly with our God

Our work. as people of faith is not done

give examples of what we’re doing in the community to make a difference

Central School, Alpha, Agape. Jackson Towers, Turkey Trot

I mention these a lot lately. Don’t I?

this is important

how we build community

and serve our Lord

what else can we do?

to make a difference – freestyle with some more of these

Let these be our grateful response for God’s good grace

So let it be.  Amen.

2nd Sunday of Advent

Luke 1:68-79

Benedictus

1.  Way In

Alpine Camp for Boys

Mentone, Alabama – Lookout Mountain

1 month in the summer

went 5 or 6 summers

still in touch with one my counselors – a FB friend

I visited Mr. O there while I was in seminary

a “decision time” in my life

felt good to walk the old trails

My last year I was “tapped” for Great Son

awakened by a counselor in the middle of the night

taken out to a place near Council Rock

sit up and tend a fire all night

also studied the Bible

next morning, returned to camp

“Silence Ban” for 24 hours

wore a stick on a string around my neck

everybody knew the sign of “Silence Ban”

to help me remember and remind others not to talk to me

I made it through the Silence Ban

and some other requirements

honored at Campfire that night

given my official name in the Alpine Nation

“Chief Correspondence,”

because I got so much mail from home

my mother sent me something almost every day

grandmothers and aunts filled in the gaps

Bridge

I have to confess

I’m pretty sure I said something during my Great Son silence ban

but nobody heard me

I guess that was grace

ever had this experience?  your own “Silence Ban”

laryngitis

or trying to keep a secret

maybe about a surprise party or something like that

maybe it lasted a day or two

maybe longer

maybe had to keep silent about a particular thing for a while

remember how it felt when you could speak again?

maybe free from sickness

maybe free to speak about the thing you had to keep silent on

2.  Tell the Story

Context

Today’s reading from Luke is the breaking of a silence ban

Zechariah, John the Baptist’s father

stricken mute when he doubted the angel’s message

given to him in the temple

where Zech. served as a priest

that God would give him a son at his old age

speech restored to him at his son’s birth

8 days after the child’s birth they were in the temple

time for circumcision, naming

Elizabeth said that they should name the child John

the name the angel Gabriel proclaimed

the priests there were going to name the child Zechariah

after his father

but Elizabeth said “No, he will be called John.”

this was strange, there were no relatives named John

they looked to Z., the father to see what name he wanted

Zech. wrote on a tablet

“His name is John”

and his tongue was loosed, and he could talk

There was so much Zechariah had to talk about

mute for almost a year

son born to him and Elizabeth, both older than usual child-bearing age

the first words out of his mouth were praises to God

“Blessed be the Lord”

Blessed = Benedictus in Latin, where we get the name of the passage

Listen again to what Zechariah said

the first words out of his mouth after a long Silence Ban

“Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, because he has come and has redeemed his people”

Remember, John was born before Jesus.  Here, Zechariah is making a prophecy about the Messiah’s birth.

Zechariah’s prophecy echoes the earlier prophets, speaking of David and Abraham …

“He has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David (as he said through his holy prophets of long ago), salvation from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us”

“to show mercy to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath he swore to our father Abraham: to rescue us from the hand of our enemies, and to enable us to serve him without fear in holiness and righteousness before him all our days”

The prophecy of Zechariah was coming through God’s covenant over the ages.  And his son John would be the one to proclaim and announce the Messiah, as Jesus of Nazareth.  John, not exactly a prophet, because he was present when the prophecy was fulfilled, was the one to announce and proclaim – and baptize the Messiah.

“And you, my child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for him … to give his people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins”

The tender mercy of God is in the rising sun, or “dayspring from on high” (KJV) will come to us in the Messiah to guide our feet.

“because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the rising sun will come to us from heaven to shine on those living in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the path of peace”

3.  So What?

Birth of a child for Zechariah was a blessing – a miracle

and blessing multiplied by his son’s role in the life and ministry of Messiah

Gospel says

the light of the world

brought life to the world

overcoming the power of darkness

and don’t we have such a song to sing

when we realize how “good, and gracious, and kind” God has been to us

should our song be any less than praise to God

in the anticipation of Advent season, and always

and we are double-blessed

for the Messiah has come

and in his life and ministry …

he guides our feet – in the way of peace

for this is way we are called to live as his people

expressing our gratitude for God’s goodness and grace

by lives lived through God’s blessing

living, not by the ways of the world

but by the ways of Messiah

forgiveness, reconciliation, and love

the ways of peace

So let it be with us.  Amen

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