What Makes You Beautiful

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This is my sermon for February 3. We celebrated the Presentation of Our Lord (even tho that was 2/2) because it allowed us to hear almost all of the Nativity from Luke. So the focus of my message was from Luke 2:22-40.

While we were down in New Orleans for the National Youth Gathering, we got to hear a LOT of great music. Every night in the Superdome, where I understand there is a football game being played later today, a band of musicians set the tone for the evening. They rocked. They played of mix of contemporary Christian music, ranging from slower tempo worship songs to blasting our up tempo rocking praise anthems. We heard everything from “Jesus Loves Me,” played as a violin solo to rappers going so fast the words became a blur.

Each night, a group of dancers taught us new dance moves that were to be combined together, day after day, to become about a three minute dance routine. I think some of our kids got almost all of it down. I usually was lost after about 10 seconds. I remember there was fist pumping; I pray that there is no video. The song that the dance routine was for was by a British boy band called “One Direction,” and the song was called “What Makes You Beautiful.” The song is about a girl who does not realize that she is beautiful until the singer points it out to her in the words of the song.

When Mary, Joseph and the newborn Jesus come to the Temple complex in Jerusalem, they encounter a couple of people, Simeon and Anna. Both are described as holy people. Simeon is righteous and devout and the Holy Spirit rested on him. He had been told he would not die until he saw the Messiah. Anna was a widow and had been for probably over 60 years. She never left the Temple, but worshipped there with fasting and prayer day and night. These are faithful people. They have been waiting for God to do something great, something that will change their world. But I don’t know if they were expecting that change to come in the form of a baby.

It is forty days after Jesus’ birth, and by Jewish tradition, a new mother is considered to be unclean for that long. But now, Mary can present herself to the Temple, and for a sacrifice (the two pigeons) she can be declared clean. So the new family, Joseph, Mary and baby Jesus move on from Bethlehem to Jerusalem. While at the Temple, they also present Jesus in service to God, as all first-born males were to be presented or dedicated to God. From there, they will move back to Nazareth.

But the little family runs into Simeon. Simeon had been promised that he would see the Messiah before he died. He lived waiting for Israel to consoled, comforted, restored by God, and trusted the coming Messiah would do that. But Simeon, led by the Holy Spirit, realized when he saw the baby Jesus, that his thoughts were too small.

The Messiah wasn’t going to console Israel. The Messiah was going to console the WHOLE world. Salvation has been prepared in the presence of ALL people. ALL. People.

The people of ancient Israel knew God wanted to bring the entire world to salvation. They thought it would come through them. They would get God’s blessings and honor. Then the rest of the world would turn to them and say, “Hey, what’s going on the Israel? What do we have to do to get in on that?”

But when Simeon holds the baby, he realizes God’s plans are bigger than what Simeon and others were thinking. Much like the girl in the song, there is one idea. Israel thinks the Messiah is going to save them from Roman rule. The girl thinks that she is ordinary and not attractive. Both of them have to think bigger.

Simeon saw what only God can see,
He’ll understand that God wants us so desperately
Right now he’s looking at Christ and he can’t believe
They don’t know, no no, they don’t know he’s Our Savior,
No No, the babe’s the world Sav-av-io-or

Simeon makes two sets of blessings. The first is thanking God for allowing him to live long enough to see the Messiah. The second is directed toward Mary. Simeon tells her that her son will be responsible for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and that a sword will pierce her soul as well. In my opinion, it’s not the leveling predicted in the Magnificat and in his sermon we heard last week, but it is that those who fall into death will be raised eternally. But the rejection and suffering he will go through will break his mother’s heart.

Jesus will raise up the fallen like nobody else
Eternal life that he’ll give us makes us overwhelmed.
Mary’s heart will be broken, and it’s hard for her
That’s the sha-a-ame of being the Messiah.

Anna had been a widow for over 60 years. She had only been married for seven years. Since then, she was on her own. If she had a son, it would have been his responsibility to take care of her. Now, she lives at the Temple, day and night, fasting and praying. When she saw the infant Jesus, she spoke out to those who were waiting for Jerusalem to be redeemed. Like Simeon just before her, she told them that they were expecting too little of their God.

Jesus will light up the world like nobody else
The way that he’ll give us grace gets me overwhelmed
But he won’t save only us like you think, it’s hard to tell
They don’t know, no no, they don’t know he’ll save the world.

Just as the angels proclaimed to the shepherds that there was Good News of Great Joy for ALL the people, Simeon and Anna are proclaiming in what Israel thought was God’s dwelling place that God’s Chosen One was here to save THE WORLD. Jew and Gentile. Woman and man. A revelation to the Gentiles and bringing glory to Israel.

If everyone saw what they can see
We’d understand that he will save us so gracefully
Simeon and Anna are looking at him and can’t believe
We don’t know, no no, we don’t know he’s Our Savior.
No No, that the baby’s Our Savior.

Too often, we underestimate God and what God is capable of. Simeon and Anna should be a reminder to us all that God can do anything, and that’s what makes God beautiful.

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One Direction - What Makes You Beautiful

Getting the Good News Out

This is my sermon text for January 6, celebrating the Epiphany of Our Lord, using the Gospel text from Matthew (Matthew 2.1-12). The Teaching Moment I refer to is a minute or two I take during the service to point out something that normally wouldn't fit well into my message. Usually, it is about one of the other lessons, but here it comes from the Gospel lesson.

In my Teaching Moment (see the bottom of this post), I gave you five pieces of information about the Wise Men, and pointed out things we think are there, but really are not. We’ve heard the  story so often we “know” what is there. We will always think of there being THREE wise men. You have too many mental impressions for me to undo with one little message. But now I want you to look and think about that text again, but now looking at the big picture. What is going on here?

In Luke’s Gospel, the birth of Our Savior Emmanuel is announced to shepherds by the hosts of heaven. God specifically sent God’s messengers to those at the bottom of society’s barrel: the last in line, the lost ones, the least of these and the little ones. Shepherds were not welcome in the Temple; they were considered unclean. So if God’s people didn’t want to have anything to do with them, they didn’t’ want to have anything to do with God. Those messengers told them that there was “Good News of Great Joy for ALL the people.”

Now we hear from Matthew. In his gospel, the birth is announced through a star rising. The Wise Men, or Magi, have come to pay homage and respect to the new King of the Jews. Unfortunately for them, they go to the current King of the Jews, who was unaware that he was being replaced. He called in his experts, and they said the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem. The Magi went there and discovered Jesus and Mary in a house.

As I shared with you in my “Top Five Facts,” the Magi were probably astrologers. They were studying the stars, not to learn about the stars, but to use them attempt to foretell the future. They came from the East, but we do not know how far. Were they from Persia, Babylon, the Arabian dessert or even further East? We are not given any hints. But we know they were stargazers who came from the East. They were not members of the people of Israel. They were foreigners. They did not follow the customs and traditions of the Jewish faith.

Yet these were the people who came to find “the child who has been born king of the Jews.” These were the ones who came “to pay him homage.”

The leaders of the Temple, the chief priests and scribes were able to pretty quickly review the Scriptures to be able to tell King Herod and his visitors where the Messiah would be born. They were able to pull Bethlehem from the writings of the prophets, or perhaps they already knew. Whether they already knew or were able to quickly discern where a new king of Israel may come from, they did not see signs that would point to his arrival. But those of a different tradition did. They may not have known where, but they knew what. They also knew whom.

In the two Gospel stories of the birth of Jesus, the announcement and revelation of God’s Son being born on Earth come to unexpected people. Luke tells us of the angels coming to shepherds, who were not welcome in the Temple and synagogues. Matthew shares that the birth of Christ was revealed to those who did not believe in or follow the God of Abraham, Moses and Jacob.

And in both cases, they heard or saw the signs, came and saw, shared their story with Mary, and left, never to be heard from again. It would be nice if Jesus would run into someone whom Jesus healed said, “I was a shepherd who came to see a baby that was lying in a manger.” Or if one of the people Jesus taught mentioned something about travelling from the East, following a star to where a mother and child were, and gave them gifts in honor of the future leader. But there is no mention of either the shepherds or Magi after their early appearance in the Gospels.

But it is the very nature of God, doing unexpected things, using unexpected people, to reveal the birth of God’s Son, Our Savior Emmanuel, Jesus Christ. We should have come to assume it. God doesn’t often use the people you would imagine, go to the places you would anticipate.

Over the past few months, in meetings with both church councils, the mutual ministry committee and a few members of each council who formed and evaluation committee, we have talked about how I am doing as pastor, and on what I, and we as the Church, can do better. I have some things to work on, but one of the items that was brought up was that we all need to put more of a focus on is Evangelism.

Evangelism is the sharing and spreading of the message of Jesus Christ. It also seems to be a bad word in the Lutheran church. It means talking to people about your faith, sharing with them why it is important to you. Doing that, telling others about what you find to be important about the fact that this baby that keeps getting these strange visitors will grow up to ultimately be nailed to a cross, crucified, to reconcile humanity and God. He will die for the forgiveness of our sins. He will be raised to show that death will be defeated. These great gifts of grace, mercy and forgiveness are so much more important than the gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. But we aren’t willing to share that information. This is especially troubling for those of us who are members of the ELCA; the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. Evangelical Lutherans are who we claim to be.

The Greek root of the word evangelism is translated in English at Gospel or the Good News. So to be an evangelist is to be a Gospeler or Good Newser. Evangelizing is Gospelizing or Good Newsing. It is more than just sharing the story; more than just talking. Being a Gospeler means doing the Good News, not just talking about it. And that’s something we are better at.

We do things in the name of Christ. We do things as commanded by Christ. We are Good Newsing by how we live our lives. We are Gospelizing by the decisions we make. We share of our time. We share of our talents. We share of our resources, of the blessings God has given us. We need to work on sharing our words and experiences as well.

But there will be opportunities to do just that; to be Gospelers in words, as well as our deeds. God presents them to us all the time. We need to recognize them, and take advantage of the opportunity.

There are shepherds and magi all around us. People who have felt that God and God’s people have turned their back on them. People who are looking for answers. People who come from a different tradition. People who aren’t like us. People who need to be Gospelized. People who need to hear the Good News, experience the Good News, have the Good News shown to them.

The shepherds and magi are proof that no one is ever beyond the embrace of God. God will go to great extremes to show how much people are loved. Sometimes, he will send angels. Sometimes, he will send a star. Sometimes, God sends a Lutheran who is struggling to be a Good Newser.

Top 5 facts about the Wise Men

5   We always hear about the Three Wise Men. But nowhere in this lesson do we hear how many Wise Men there are. There are three gifts, so it is assumed that each brought a gift. Three gifts, so there must have been 3 Wise Men.

4   Speaking of Wise Men, they are also referred to as Magi. That comes from the word in Greek, magos, which is the root word for magician.

3   This means they were probably magicians or astrologers, not astronomers – watching the stars for the zodiac, not just the stars, and definitely not kings. (Even though we sang “We Three Kings.”)

2   By the tradition of magi & astrologers, a star would rise at the birth of a leader or ruler. So the Wise Men/Magi would have began their travels at the sight of the sign, and arrived much later; which is why we celebrate their arrival not on Christmas, but on the day of Epiphany.

1    The day of Epiphany (which means appearance or revelation) has been set 12 days after Christmas, which is where we get the 12 days of Christmas from.

Over Shadowed

This is my sermon text for January 13, celebrating the Baptism of Our Lord, and focusing on the Gospel text from Luke (Luke 3.15-22).

Have you ever lived in the shadow of someone?

Have you ever been known as “so-and-so’s brother or sister?” Or “Aren’t you what’s-his-name’s kid?”

Has your identity been wrapped up in your relationship to someone else?

It has to be incredibly frustrating. It’s bad enough when you have to live with what you have done and the reputation you have earned based upon your own actions. But when you have to try to live up to, or not live down to, what someone else has done, that is a challenge.

As an only child, I didn’t have to deal with that, but I can imagine the frustration if you’re one of the youngest in the family, and on the first day of school, the teacher refers to one (or several) of your older sisters and brothers. Whether good or bad, you realize that you aren’t being looked at for your own merits, but rather, people’s perception of you is colored, shaded or altered because of your family. It might be good; your last name may open some doors, or get you the benefit of the doubt. On the other hand, it could cause problems. People won’t see you for you; they have pre judged you. They are anticipating you will act and do things in a certain way, just because of who certain members of your family were.

For example, I’d like to the Manning family. Archie Manning was the quarterback for the New Orleans Saints in the Seventies and early Eighties. He was a very good quarterback on some really horrible teams. During his career for the Saints, he played on one team that had a .500 record; they won as many games as they lost. The rest of his time, his teams had a losing record. His son, Peyton, had an outstanding college career at Tennessee, finishing as runner-up for the Heisman Trophy to Michigan’s Charles Woodson, and has had an excellent career in the NFL, winning four MVP awards, winning Super Bowl 41 and having an incredible comeback season this year for the Broncos.

Peyton’s little brother, and Archie’s youngest son, Eli, is also an NFL quarterback. He didn’t have as great a college career as Peyton, and struggled at the beginning of his career for the Giants. He’s considered to be a very good quarterback, but not one of the all time greats, like his brother. But Eli has won two Super Bowls.

It must have been a challenge for both Peyton and Eli as they grew up, having to have themselves compared to their dad. Then as Peyton began to excel, Eli had to face ANOTHER set of comparisons. Now, Peyton has to answer questions if he can match his brother’s second Super Bowl title.

Individually, each of the Manning’s has had remarkable careers. Each of them finished in the top five in the Heisman voting. Each of them has had a long NFL career. But none of them will be judged on their own; they will always be compared to one another. Archie, the father, who had a very good career, may actually be thought of as the least of the three of them. It is the ones who came after him who were more powerful quarterbacks.

Such was the case for the subject of most of today’s Gospel lesson from Luke: John the Baptizer.

It was John who was the big deal. It was John’s whose preaching and teaching caught everyone’s attention. It was John who everybody thought was the Messiah. John drew the attention of the chief priests and elders. John drew the ire of Herod.

The crowds asked if he was the promised one, the one they had been waiting for. They thought John could be the Messiah. He told them he was not. But, that the Messiah was coming. However great and awesome they thought that John was, wait until they see the true Messiah.

John knew he was living in the shadow of the Messiah. He knew his role was to prepare the way. While he knew the starring role was his, it did not mean that he was going to shrink from the spotlight. He preached and proclaimed his message, right up until the time he got arrested for doing just that.

While we know him as John the Baptist, he may better be known as John the Testifier or John the Good Newser, because it of his preaching, especially against Herod, that got him arrested. We don’t know exactly when it was that he was arrested, but by the way Luke writes, it sounds like John did not baptize Jesus. Luke, who spends so much of the first two chapters of his Gospel writing about John and his miraculous birth, does not even let John the Baptist do the baptizing. Luke writes that Jesus was baptized “when all the people were baptized.”

So John, who had the spotlight, moves into the shadows, not even getting to have the honor, according to Luke, to do what his name claims. So, if John didn’t baptize Jesus, who did?

“Now when all the people were baptized, and when Jesus also had been baptized and was praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.” We don’t know. Luke doesn’t tell us who helped Jesus into the water.

But the passage I just read tells who handled the important part of the baptism, and it is someone else used to being in the shadows. “The Holy Spirit descended upon him in bodily form like a dove.” The important part of the baptism for Jesus is that the Holy Spirit came to Christ. That was the important thing about Jesus’ baptism; the Spirit came to anoint him, to be with him, to sustain him and support him.

That is the important part of baptism for each of you. That is the important part of baptism for everyone. The important part of the baptism for all of us is that the Holy Spirit comes to us. Now, we don’t get to see the Spirit coming to us looking like a dove, but in our baptism, when we have the water poured over us, when we are anointed, we DO receive the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit comes to us by the gift of the grace of God. It doesn’t come because we accept Jesus or the Spirit. It doesn’t come because we invite the Spirit into our lives. The Spirit comes because it is sent by God. It is not because of anything we do. The Spirit comes because God decides to do so.

That is why Luther and the other Reformers advocated infant baptism, and why we practice that today. Receiving the Holy Spirit in baptism comes from God, not from what we do. That is why we baptize babies. As cute and wonderful as they are, they have not done anything to earn God’s favor or love. God gives us grace because that is what God does. Our God is a god of love, a god of mercy. In our baptism, God sends the Holy Spirit to be with us, always, as a sign of God’s grace and love, forgiving us in advance for our sins, washing away our wrongs before we have even done them. Like Jesus, in our baptism we are called and claimed as one of God’s own, one of His beloved.

The Spirit comes to strengthen and sustain Jesus for his ministry. The Spirit will be with him throughout his life, and will be with him onto the Cross, where he gives up the Spirit, showing how much God will do to show us how much we are loved.

The Spirit comes to strengthen and sustain us as we live out our baptized lives. The Spirit will be with us throughout our lives. The Spirit can give us the power and will to do God’s work, proclaim God’s love, grace and mercy, show God’s love and care, to be God’s representative on earth.

Martin Luther had a tradition that whenever he washed, he would pour some water on his face or head and remember that in his baptism he was claimed as a child of God, strengthened for service. Remember that as well. You have received the Holy Spirit. You are a beloved Child of God. You have been called to serve God, doing God’s work with your hands, never to live in the shadows.

Shepherding was not a glamorous vocation back in the single digit years

This is my sermon text for my Christmas Morn sermon. I used Luke 2.8-20 as my text.

Shepherding was not a glamorous vocation back in the single digit years.

It was often the job of last resort. If you couldn’t do anything else, become a shepherd. You didn’t really have to learn a skill, just to count. You must be willing to chase off, and sometimes fight off, wild animals. You had to be willing to spend a LOT of time outside. But one of the things about being a shepherd was that you were exempted from attending worship. By spending all of that time outdoors and around animals, they were unclean by the laws and traditions of the day.

As being ruled to be ‘unclean,’ they were not allowed in the Temple or synagogues until they proved they were clean to the rabbis and chief priests. Experts believe that many shepherds felt that if they were not wanted by God, or more accurately, God’s representatives, then they did not want to have anything to do with God. Ironically, like the sheep they tended, shepherds had wandered away from the flock.

They were not regular attendees in worship. They probably only came on the BIG holy days, or when someone strongly encouraged them. When they did come, it was probably out of a sense of obligation, and they did not feel like they were wanted. <pause>

So it was to people who had turned away from God that the hosts of heaven came to bring “good news of great joy for all of the people.” I can understand why the shepherds were terrified. They hadn’t been to the Temple in years, and now the messengers of the Most High show up in the middle of the night in their fields.

How would you feel if you hadn’t been to church in a long time, or at least not on a regular basis, and angels showed up? Would you quake at the sight? <pause>

The angel told them the promised, and long awaited, Messiah had been born in Bethlehem. As a sign, they would find a newborn baby, wrapped in strips of cloth, asleep in a feeding trough. To encourage them to seek out this sign, more angels than they could count, and they are professional counters, saying, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, goodwill toward men!” When the angels left, they decided to go to Bethlehem to see this sign, this baby.

They went into Bethlehem. They found Mary and Joseph and the baby, lying in a manger. Then the shepherds told everyone what they had been told by the angels about this baby. All who heard were amazed, including Mary who “treasured all these words and pondered them in her heart.” The shepherds went on giving praise, honor and glory to God “for all they had heard and seen.”

God decided the way to redeem humanity and restore the broken relationship between God and all of us was to send His Son to live among us, live as one of us. For that Son to ultimately be crucified as a way to show how deep God’s love is for each and every one of us. When it was time to make the birth announcements, God sent a host of angels to … shepherds.

There was not an angelic appearance in the courts of Rome, nor in the Temple in Jerusalem. But to certain poor shepherds in fields where they lay, the messengers of God proclaimed the holy birth. “Good news of great joy for all the people: to you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is the Messiah, the Lord.”

Not to Caesar.

Not to Herod.

Not to the Chief Priests.

But to those who feel abandoned by God, rejected by the church.

Isn’t it amazing the lengths and depths that God will go to show that we are all beloved, treasures of God?

The announcement of the birth of the Messiah, of Our Savior Emmanuel, was made to people who felt out of the range of God’s love, and the declaration was made “to you.” The Messiah, the Christ child was born for you.

God knows that those who most desperately need to hear the message of God’s love and grace and mercy and forgiveness and peace are those who are least likely to come to a house of worship to hear it. So on that night around 2000 years ago, God sent a personal message.

It affected them so deeply, to know that they were not outside of God’s embrace that they “made known what had been told.” They went “glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen.” After realizing God hadn’t given up on them, to borrow from the prophet Isaiah, “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who lived in a land of deep darkness— on them light has shined.” No one is outside of God’s love, redemption and grace.

That is as true today as it was then. And people need to hear that message.

So if you feel like a shepherd, that God, or some of God’s people, don’t want you; you feel abandoned or ignored by God; or that you’re too bad, or been gone too long, or not worthy or that whatever else has kept you apart from God. I have a message for you. “Do not be afraid! I bring you good news of great joy for all the people: for YOU a Savior has come!”

If you don’t feel like a shepherd, but you know someone who does, you need to be a messenger. Be an angel (because the word in Greek from which we get angel actually means messenger), and share the good news of great joy, that for ALL of the people, for YOU, a Savior has come!

Share the Good News! Proclaim the Great Joy!

A Savior, the Messiah, the Christ has come FOR YOU!

Give glory to God in the highest heaven.

And on Earth, peace and God’s favor to everyone.

O Holy Night as performed on Studio 60 (2006)

This is my absolutely favorite version of this hymn. The ideas behind this was (in the TV story) giving an opportunity for musicians displaced by Katrina an opportunity to earn money through performing on national TV. 

You can download an mp3 version of the song WITHOUT the dialog from this site (please give a donation to the Tipitina Foundation listed just below the download). 

Called

This is the text for my Christmas Eve sermon. I am focusing on Joseph and Mary and leaving the rest of the Birth Narrative to Christmas Day. My texts for this sermon are Luke 1.26-38, Matthew 1.18-25 and Luke 2.1-7.

You may be thinking, Pastor, where’s the rest? Why are you stopping there? Where are the angels Harking? The shepherds shepherding? The Wise Men? The little drummer boy? Where is the rest of Christmas??

Relax. It’s still there; except for the drummer boy. The harking angels and shepherds are still there in Luke’s Gospel, and I’m going to talk about them tomorrow morning (9 a.m. at Our Savior’s and 10:45 at Emmanuel). As for the Wise Men, we celebrate their visitation to the newborn Christ on Epiphany, which is Sunday, January 6 (9 a.m. at Our Savior’s and 10:45 at Emmanuel).

But tonight, I want to focus on this tiny family, Mary, Joseph and their newborn bundle of joy, Jesus. I imagine them all huddled together; Mary looking adoringly at her baby, Joseph looking adoringly at his teenage bride. While the last two lines of the readings from Matthew and Luke tell the most important part of the story, the baby Jesus was born, I think the more interesting information is in what comes before.

In the first reading from Luke, (Luke 1.26-38) we are told that the angel Gabriel went to Nazareth, a very little, teeny tiny, small town, and found Mary, a young girl engaged to a man named Joseph. At this time, the Jewish tradition called for a two part marriage, the betrothal, then the actual marriage, a few months later. During the betrothal, the man and woman lived together in separate rooms in his house, but did not share a bed.

So Mary, who by the tradition of the Jewish people at that time would have been in her early teens, is visited by the angel Gabriel, who tells her she has received God’s favor, and that God is with her. God has chosen her to have a special honor. She will give birth to a baby, a boy, who will sit on the throne of King David, and rule over Israel forever.

I think Mary takes it quite well. She asks only one question, “How?”

Gabriel explains that through the power of the Holy Spirit she will conceive and carry God’s Son. The angel goes onto say that as a sign of the incredible things God is doing, Mary’s cousin, Elizabeth, who is a WHOLE lot older than Mary, is pregnant. Gabriel tells Mary that “Nothing is impossible for God.”

Mary tells the angel that she serves the Lord; let it happen as you have said. Think about that An angel of God comes to her, to tell her that she, a virgin, will have a child, a son who will be the Son of God and reign over Israel forever. And her response is, “I am the Lord’s servant. Let it be with me as you have said.” Gabriel drops this unexpected, unanticipated request on her, and she says, “Sounds good.”

Then she leaves town. Mary goes to visit Elizabeth, and stayed there for about three months.

So that brings us to Joseph. Mary takes off for three months, and then … “She was found to be with child.” <PAUSE>

We don’t know how Joseph found out. Was she showing when she came back? At three months, it is possible. Did she tell him right away? I can’t imagine what a conversation between Mary and Joseph would have been like. Were there whispers throughout Nazareth? Is that how Joseph found out? If they talked, I can’t imagine that going well.

However, Joseph was “a righteous man and unwilling to expose her to public disgrace, (and) planned to dismiss her quietly.” It was not just public disgrace, by the terms of Hebrew law, Mary should be taken outside the city gates and stoned to death. And quietly? You would understand better than I can, how do you keep something quiet in a tiny town, in a small community? If there weren’t whispers before, there had to be outright conversations after.

Just as Joseph was making up his mind, while he was asleep, an angel appeared to him, telling him not to be “afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the child conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.” The angel tells Joseph the child is fulfilling a prophecy that God will be with us. That is what Emmanuel means, God with us. The child will save his people from their sins.

But Joseph had plenty reasons to be afraid. First, the child was not his. By not dismissing the pregnant Mary, he would bring shame to himself and his family. He would be breaking the Laws of his people. He would be giving away the birthright of the firstborn to a child that he KNEW was not his. Not only was it not his, this was a HOLY child, a child that fulfills prophecies and will save his people. The angel is calling for Joseph to do a great deed.

When I first began to enter the ministry, I learned you tell and retell and analyze your call story. A call story is how you felt or heard the call to ministry. It is the answer to “What led you to become a pastor?” We also study the call stories of people in the Bible. One thing almost every Biblical call story has in common is the questioning or rejection of the call. Let me give you an example, how did Jonah react to God calling him to be a prophet? He ran the opposite way, he got on a  ship which ran into bad weather, he was thrown off the ship (into the water), got swallowed by a whale, which spit him up on the shore near where he was to go. There are great examples of those who are called; Abraham, Moses, David, all ran or said, “You’ve got the wrong guy. Not me.” Knowing these people questioned their call is helpful when you have your own questions.

But not in this case, or cases. We don’t hear any doubt from Joseph. We are told, “he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Mary asked only how was this going to happen.

Neither rejected the call. When the angel of the Lord showed up, they didn’t treat his arrival like seeing on caller I.D. a call you DON’T want to take. They didn’t pretend not to hear it. They didn’t say this was the wrong number. They didn’t make the excuse that they were busy, or didn’t need one, or couldn’t possibly do it at this time. Mary said she served the Lord. Joseph did as he was commanded.

Bethlehem was overflowing with people who had to return for the census, and there was nowhere for them to go. Despite this child being the Son of God, Our Savior, Emmanuel, they could not find a place to stay. So when Mary gave birth to Jesus, she had to use a feeding trough for his first cradle. There the three of them, two of them called to take care of the third, were together.

We are all called by God. Some of us may be better at keeping that call on mute than others. Some of us may not have checked our messages in quite a long while. Some may think they’ve turned the phone off.

You. Are. Wrong.

God is still calling you. Want proof? You’re in church right now, aren’t you?

Nothing is impossible for God. Whether you are here by your own volition, through the invitation and encouragement of family or friends, or by the nagging and threatening of those same loved ones, you are here to hear and experience God’s Word and God’s gifts of grace, love, mercy and forgiveness.

I have no idea how God may be calling to you. The angel of the Lord spoke to Joseph through dreams. So tonight, when you are nestled all snug in your bed, with visions of some odd thing dancing through your head, take a moment. Is that vision due to mixing fruitcake, pickled eggs and lutefisk, or is God talking to you? God may be saying don’t eat that stuff together, or at all.

Or God may be calling you. God may be asking you to help in God’s work. Besides the gifts that will be exchanged later tonight and tomorrow, you maybe able to give of yourself, of your talents and abilities, or of your time, to help those who are in need of help. As we share in the joy of the season, you could share the story that is the reason for the celebration, the gift of God’s son. While we will be gathering with family and friends, you may gather more often in worship of our Savior, who came to earth to totally give of himself, including dying on a cross for you and for all, for the forgiveness of our sins.

God is calling you to take part in God’s work in the world. Now if that makes you nervous, and are thinking that Jonah’s escape plan doesn’t sound that bad, relax. God asks only what we are capable of doing. Of course, God can empower us to do so much more than we think we can do, but right now, we can share the Good News. Our Savior Emmanuel has been born.

The Christmas Story - St. Paul's Church, Auckland, NZ

Sowing the Seeds of Love

This is my sermon text from Sunday, December 16, right after the Newtown shootings. Both churches had their Sunday School Christmas program, so the service order was adjusted. I had planned on giving a short message based on Philippians 4.4-7, focusing on "Rejoice." I couldn't do that, so I delivered this sermon instead.

Because of the program put on by the very talented children in our Sunday School program, I had intended only to speak a message to our children, although the adults are always welcome to listen in, focusing on the reading from Philippians 4. We were going to talk about rejoicing. That’s why the Hymn of the day was, “Rejoice, Rejoice Believers!”

While our children did an excellent job, and told a glorious story, I don’t think today is a day for rejoicing, given the tragedy that occurred on Friday in Newtown, CT. I have heard from friends and strangers, in person, on TV, through social media, people have asked “How could God allow this to happen?” “Where was God?”

I will admit that I have asked that myself. And I’ve prayed. I still do not understand why. Why would someone feel the need to kill innocents?

But before we ask, “Where was God?, ask “Where were we?”

We are called and commanded by God to love one another; to care for one another, to take care of one another. But we ignore, marginalize and shun those who are different. We feel the need to protect ourselves from those who are different, rather than trying to find out about them. We don’t value human life.

Too often, the life we don’t value is our own. We don’t feel worthy; we aren’t good enough, smart enough, strong enough.

This idea is not natural. It does not come from inside of us. It may grow inside of us, but it is a seed planted by others. What’s wrong with you? It is a seed that is watered by others. Why can’t you be like everyone else? It is a seed that is fed by others. How can you be so dumb-clumsy-careless?

If you are told often enough that you are no good, that you are worthless, eventually you’ll begin to believe it. And if I am worthless, then either you are worthless too, or you are too good for me. When my life doesn’t matter, what do I care about you and yours?

So when we belittle someone, we plant that seed. When we mock someone, we water that seed. when we bully someone, we feed that seed.

But when we remember that every person we meet is a beloved child of God; when we realize that the Almighty breathed life into each individual; when we appreciate all of the children, women and men of the world as an equal human being made in the likeness of the Creator, we remember that about ourselves.

Why did this happen? Ultimately, it has to do with the fact that we do not love each other as we do our selves. Sometimes, too often, we don’t love ourselves.

But “How could God allow this to happen?” “Where was God?”

God has promised us that there will be a time and place where there will be no suffering, no pain, no death. A time where God will wipe all tears from our eyes. That is the time when Christ will come again. A time we remember during this Advent season.

That time is to come, but it is not now. Our world is broken. Our world is hurting. God has called us to heal it; to give of ourselves to fix it; to use our selves to repair it. God wants us to give more of ourselves and what we have to share the love and grace and mercy given to us by God with those who need it. The lost ones. The last in line. The least of these. And the little ones.

Where was God?

God was there. While I don’t know anything about the staff of Sandy Hook Elementary School and their beliefs, I know God was there.

God was there and strengthened the principal and social worker who ran TOWARD the gun fire.

God was there and strengthened the teacher who hid her class in the bathroom and told the assassin that they weren’t there.

God was there in the teachers who sat with their students and told them that they were loved.

God was there in the first responders who ran into a situation where they did not know what they would find. Who now have to live with images they which will never leave them.

God is there in all of the cries and shouts and screams, crying and shouting and screaming with those in pain and loss.

God is there, whispering peace and love into the ears of those who are so shaken that now they cannot hear it, but in hope that a new seed, a bright seed, may be able to grow. God is sharing God’s compassionate love through hundreds of hugs, thousands of voices and billions of prayers.

God is there encouraging people to reach out to one another, to not be alone in their pain and grief.

God is here calling us to act, rather than react. To sew the seeds of love, and not those of disregard; the seeds of hope, and not those of contempt; the seeds of peace, and not those of dissent.

We will not sing the appointed hymn, “Rejoice, Rejoice Believers.” We will save that for another day. But we will sing a hymn that reflects the message of Philippians 4. We will sing “In Deepest Night,” ELW # 699. It is a song that is new to us, but a message that we all need to hear.

We also need to hear the words of Paul: “Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hears and your minds in Christ Jesus.” AMEN.

Sowing the Seeds of Love - Tears for Fears

 

I previously posted this at my old blog, Prepare Ye.

Long Live The Revolution!

This is the text of my sermon for Sunday, December 23, and was based on the Magnificat.

I don’t think many of us in the Lutheran tradition, or in any of the Protestant traditions, really think about Mary. The Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ, seems to be the, I don’t want to say possession, but she belongs to the Roman Catholic tradition.

There, she is venerated. She is prayed to. She is considered to be the co-redeemer of humanity, along with her son, who is also the Son of God. She is asked to intercede on our behalf.

We don’t feel we need to ask anyone to intercede on our behalf when we can pray directly to God. We can ask Christ directly for forgiveness. We don’t have to ask Mary or any of the other saints to intercede for us.

So we tend not to think of Mary very much. Sure, she’ll be the focus of some hymns and carols during Christmas. We will thank her for telling Jesus to turn water into wine at the wedding in Cana. We feel for her when we hear the lesson when she and her other children come to Jesus and hear him say, “Who are my mother and brothers?” We imagine her heartbreak when we hear Christ from the cross say, “Woman, behold your son.” when he tells the Beloved Disciple to care for her after his death.

But beyond those times when she is mentioned in the Gospels, we tend to not think of her. Or when we do, it is of this quiet, meek, little girl. The Virgin Mother - we think of her in the stable, holding her newborn son as a parade of visitors, shepherds and magi come to pay homage. Mother Mary, meek and mild – there is even a hymn by that title.

The sweet, Virgin Mary, the teenage mother of Jesus, a quiet, serene woman.

Today, I present to you a different picture of Mary; Mary, the Prophet, Mary, the First Disciple; Mary, the Revolutionary. LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!!

The words that I read, Mary’s response to Elizabeth, best known as the Magnificat, are words that have been banned by governments because they thought they were so revolutionary. The Magnificat, which is regularly used during daily worship services, was prohibited from being read, to keep the people from rebelling.

Mary. Sweet Virgin Mary was a secret radical, a revolutionary. Who knew?

Well, there was God. God knew little Mary from Nazareth had the heart of a radical. That was one of the things that made the angel Gabriel call her favored by God. When told she would have a child without having been with a man, and that the child would be the Son of God himself, Mary said, “I serve the Lord. Let it happen as you have said.”

She knew God’s promise of a Messiah and what that would mean for her people, Israel, and for the world. While every mother is proud of her child and is more than willing to share her joy with anyone who will listen, Mary tells Elizabeth, who is pregnant with her own extra special bundle of joy, exactly how great her child will be.

Mary says that her soul magnifies the Lord, bringing attention and focus to the mercy and graciousness of God, who has chosen to do wonderful things through this unmarried, pregnant teenage girl. It is not in spite of her lowliness that she has found favor with God; it is because of it. Rather than using Elizabeth, the wife of a high priest, God chose Mary, and with that choice, God shows partiality for the marginalized members of society. Because of her faith, her belief in what the angel Gabriel had told her, because of her belief that she could be useful to God and God’s purpose, she will be called ‘blessed’ by all subsequent generations.

God is, has been, and will be merciful to those who fear and love the Almighty. Those who are in positions of power, who are proud, should be fearful. Fearful doesn’t mean afraid of; fearful means to be respectful of the power and majesty of God.

Those who don’t respect God’s power, those who put their trust in themselves rather than in God, those whose pride exceeds their faith will be “scattered … in the thoughts of their hearts.” Those prideful people who look down upon others rather than look up to God will live in the imagination of their hearts and minds.

Those who have power and chose to follow their agenda rather than God’s, those who do not help those who are lost, last in line, the least of these and the little ones, they will be “brought down from their thrones.” In their place, God has “lifted up the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty.”

God is about to turn the world on its ear. Those who have been high and mighty will be brought down, and those of low standing will be elevated. God is going to reverse the positions in culture. The hungry will be fed, filled until they are satisfied. Those who have been rich and have been selfish with their wealth will be sent away with nothing. People who are in positions of power who have not done as God has directed toward the people who are marginalized are going to be rebuked, reprimanded and reproved. “From everyone to whom much has been given, much will be required.” [Luke 12.48] Those who have been given much are to use that to help and take care of those whom have been given little, or nothing. The rich and powerful, the high and the mighty have had their chance. They failed; they did not take care of the less fortunate. Now God will take care of them all.

LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!

THAT is what caused the Magnificat to be banned in several countries where the rulers thought their people might be considering revolution. So they took these words of overturning rulers and the rich away from the Virgin Mary. You can hide the words, but you can’t hide God’s plan.

Mary proclaims God will settle the score. Those who have been shoved away and ignored will be taken care of. Those who have misused the blessings of God will be called to account. The power structure of the world is going to change.

Mary’s words are a cry to repent for those who have received blessings from God to use those to help those who have not been so blessed. They have been a warning to kings, rulers and the wealthy throughout time that God knows if they have been naughty or nice with the gifts God has given them.

Should this be an alert, a wake up call to a people who live in what is called the greatest country in the world? Should Mary’s prophetic words worry the most powerful and wealthy nation to ever exist on the face of God’s green earth?

<meekly> <Pause> LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION?

Mary, mother of God, believed God was going to do these things through her son. She trusted in Gabriel’s message that “Nothing is impossible for God.”

It is possible that we can heed Mary’s warning and give of God’s blessings to show God’s love to the marginalized and minimalized. It is possible for us to feed the hungry, and care for the poor. It is possible for us to put our trust and faith in God rather than in our selves and our abilities.

Mary was the first follower of her Son, knowing of his great promise and ability. She followed him to the Cross where he died, knowing that he was doing His Father’s work; that through his death and resurrection, he will save all people. She knew that work would be continued by those who followed, and continue to follow her Son. She knew that ultimately, God’s justice would prevail, that wrongs would be righted.

LONG LIVE THE REVOLUTION!

The Canticle of the Turning