Christmas Eve – Part Two

If you have not, please read the previous post first.

Concise Christmas Sermon

I choose the Scripture from the Gospel of John as our primary Scripture this Christmas Eve because it is the only gospel that does not mention shepherds, wisemen, the baby Jesus or the traditional nativity scene.  I did this because too often we are tempted to trivialize The Incarnation which is the Christian doctrine/event we celebrate at Christmas.  These scenes have something to teach us but we cannot afford to have Jesus remain a baby.  We have to remember who he became and what happened in his life.  We must grow our faith and understanding of the meaning of our life with Christ from the manger to the mission. 

When I was a little boy, my mother told me that God controls everything, that he knows the choices I will make before I make them and that he knows absolutely everything.  I think she told me this because she just wanted me to be a good boy and she, like most people, believed that sometimes the best strategy involves some fear. However, the truth is that God doesn’t control everything.  God does not stop tsunamis, earthquakes and people flying into big buildings.  These things happen, we can’t stop them, but we can respond to them in the image of God because that’s who we are.  I know we often want God to be that God of our childhood, we want God to stop all the bad that may happen, we say if God was really a loving God then he would do this or stop that.  The truth is that is not who God is, that is not who Jesus, the word made flesh, showed God to be in his earthly life.  Jesus allowed others to make their own choices.  Jesus called, opened doors, offered opportunities but did not force others to accept, follow or enter the doors he opened.   The God Jesus came to reveal does not control everything, does not force obedience.  If God controls everything, then he must control us too and that takes away our free will and free will is what enables us to love.  I love Beth, I chose her.  I didn’t have to be with her or her with me but we chose. The essence of love is in giving ourselves freely to another, choosing freely to act on behalf of others.  I want to keep my free will and my ability to love but I can’t have the controlling all powerful God of my childhood and my free will. 

The Incarnation (God made flesh) and the Trinity (One God in three coequal persons) tells us God lives within us.  We may never be able to stop Tsunamis, earthquakes, people flying into big buildings, the death of the young or tragic accidents, but we can choose how to respond to them.  If the world believes that God doesn’t care or won’t act, it is because we, who are the image of God, have not acted to bring the hope and healing that comes with giving ourselves freely to others, acting with love. 

The world is in a very difficult place.  We all know people who have lost jobs.  Hard working people, people we respect need help from food pantries and other assistance.    Violence abounds.  Hatred, selfishness and bigotry are woven into the fabric of society.  The God of our childhood cannot fix it. The world needs a mature faith, a faith that understands that we are the image of God.  Paul said we are a royal priesthood, and the ambassadors for Christ.  Scripture tells us that God is love and in the prayer book we pray to a God whose property is always to have mercy.  A mature faith believes in the transformative power of love and mercy.  A mature faith takes a personal responsibility for changing the world.  A mature faith freely sacrifices for the sake of others, for love. There are many opportunities to feed the hungry, cloth the naked, and visit those in need, to mourn with someone who has lost a loved one or share the joy of a new birth.  The world desperately needs people with a mature faith, Christians willing to be little Christs and reveal the loving and merciful nature of God to the world.  God calls each of us to work with him in the creation of a new heaven and a new earth, to help him usher in the kingdom.  We can do it, we can change the world but it will take a mature faith to do it.

Christmas Eve Service

After our Christmas Eve services, several persons asked me if I had the narrative from our lessons and carols or my sermon in written form that I could publish.  I will try and do this in two separate posts. Published below is the narrative from the lessons and carols.  As many of you know I never write my sermons but I will try and publish a concise version with the main thoughts in a second post to come in a couple days.  Thank you for your interest.

First Reading – John 1:1 – 5

 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world.” 

Creation is wrapped in the Incarnation.  We believe that the Word that was spoken to bring creation into being is same word that became flesh in the person of Jesus, the son of God. The word, not in the sense of a syllable or audible speech but in the sense of bond, truth, and power.  In speaking the word to bring creation into being God formed the basis of his relationship with us, imprinting us and all creation with his image, marking us as his, assuring us that we are the objects of his love.  It is only as it should be that many find God in the beauty of creation, in the intricate workings of the cosmos, in the delicate way that soil and air, water and wind, heart and lung interact to make life possible.  We are surrounded by the image and power of God. 

Second Reading – John 1:9-14 

“He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.” 

The Incarnation is not something that all accept, recognize or believe.  In contrast to what we sometimes foolishly think, especially at Christmas, Jesus is not worshipped by all, loved by all, or followed by all, this is as true today as it was in Jesus own time.  Yet to those who believe, the Incarnation brings to life a deep and special relationship between you and I and God.  We have become the children of God.  We proclaim Jesus to be the son of God because of his unique relationship with God but we must never forget that Jesus did not take on human flesh to be unique but to add to the family of God.  Because of the Incarnation we are reminded that we bear the image of God, we are heirs of God’s kingdom; we are, along with Jesus, the children of God.  When we say Our Father, in the Lord’s Prayer the word for father comes from one of the simplest Hebrew words, abe.  A sound meant to mimic the very first sounds of a baby.  By the blessing of the Incarnation we cry to God, abe, daddy. 

Third Reading – John 16:4b-7

“Jesus told his disciples: I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’  Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.  But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

One of the most profound and disturbing things that Jesus said was, “it was better for his disciples if he went away”.  On the surface this seems to us like the words of someone who does not value themselves or we may be thinking, how would it be better for the disciple or us that the son of God should go away?  Isn’t the point of the Incarnation, God with us?

Jesus knew that the third person of the Trinity could not come until he was no longer with the disciples.  God had a plan for an even a closer relationship with his disciples and with us, even better than God with us, through the action of the Holy Spirit God is more than with us, God is in us.  God’s advocate, the Holy Spirit, has come and dwells within us to speak God’s words from within, advising us, guiding us, and standing with us.   By the power of the Holy Spirit and the mystery of the Incarnation we now have the closest possible relationship with our God, the most intimate relationship we will ever know is between God and us. God dwells in you and me. 

Fourth Reading – Galatians 5:22-25

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”

Jesus often talked about fruit.  Fruit was important to the agricultural community in which he lived much as the fruit of the earth is important to us.  Fruit does many things.  Fruit tells us what species a tree or bush is?  Can a blueberry bush bear strawberries?  Can a good tree bear bad fruit? Fruit feeds.  Fruit is healthy. Fruit is nourishing and life giving.  Fruit carries the seed of the next generation.  Without fruit a tree will quickly become extinct. 

In the Incarnation God’s plan comes full circle.  Like Mary, human, finite, fallible, mortal and insignificant, God now chooses us, to be the scared vessels which will carry the incarnate God.  Like Mary, you and I are now given the responsibility and honor of carrying God to the world.  Like Jesus, you and I are now called to make the love of God known in the world.  The fruit we bear can be the fruit that will spiritually nourish the world.  The fruit we bear can plant the seeds of the next generation of believers.  The type fruit we bear is our choice.

The Incarnation means you are the image of God.  The Incarnation means you are the child of God and an heir of the kingdom.  The Incarnation means you are the God carrier; the scared vessel of God.  This Incarnation is our reason to rejoice.

 

I believe in Christmas

CREDO: “I believe”.

Christian: “Little Christ or Christ-like”.

The Incarnation: “God appearing in human form”.

I believe:  It doesn’t matter if Jesus was born of a virgin.  God is not bound by human rules concerning conception and parentage.  God’s actions do not need to make sense to us. 

I believe: It doesn’t matter if angels serenaded shepherds on the night of Jesus’ birth.   The spark of God resides in all of us.  If we let that light guide us, we will see and hear God in sellers and buyers, young and old, beggars and givers, just as Jesus did. 

I believe: It doesn’t matter if there was a star or wise men or sheep.  The wonderful idyllic and romantic nativity scenes of Jesus’ birth, real or not, don’t matter. 

I believe: It does matter what we think of Jesus.  If we believe Jesus is still the baby in these pictures, cute and cuddly, just another element in a well posed picture of a baby surrounded by family, friends and gifts, then Christmas will continue to be nothing more than a temporary and largely insignificant time of cheer and kindness.  If we believe Jesus is God incarnate, a lover, a leader, a scourge of the self-righteous and a comforter of those in pain, a true and faithful picture of God in human flesh worthy to be imitated in our daily lives, then through us, Christmas can change the world.  Justice, Peace, Hope, Love and Joy can prevail. 

I believe: As a Christian it matters what I do, say and choose each day of my life.  It is not within my power to be perfectly Christ-like, so I ask for the forgiveness of others and God for my imperfections as I offer forgiveness to all, who like me, are imperfect. 

I believe I share this purpose with Jesus; to make God known in my day as Jesus did in his day. 

I believe.

The Image of Christianity

Watching the “Amazing Race” last Sunday two young contestants, racing together as friends and openly proclaiming their Christianity, were stuck at a road block, a time in the race when a task must be preformed before the team can move on, at a Buddhist Temple.   The young men where shown discussing the fact that being in the Temple did not bother them because they knew that their God was the greater God, the one true and living God.  As one of the skateboarders said “The Bible is pretty clear on the issue.” .

On “Survivor” this season, Brandon Hantz is also a self-professed Christian and is often shown either not making any sense whatsoever when stating his “christian principles” or singling out one young lady for being a temptress.  Saying she must be kicked off the island because she tempts him to impure thoughts.

These are just the tip of the TV iceberg where Christianity is concerned.  Many shows, particularly reality and comedy shows portray Christianity in a negative light, using the exclusive and judgmental views of some conservative and fundamentalist Christians to skewer mainstream Christianity and paint all of us with one broad ugly brush.

TV is an extremely important media in our society.  Many if not most Americans get their primary understanding of things from what they see on TV.  It should come as no surprise to us that most  Americans polled take a dim view of Christianity and organized religion when their primary contact with it and information about it comes from TV, televangelists, like Pat Robertson, and people like Brandon Hantz.

When I look at the Christians that I come into contact with on a daily basis,  Episcopalians, Methodists,  ELCA Lutherans and others who view the Gospel of Jesus Christ as a message of inclusion, peace, justice and love, it paints a very different picture of the faith I call my own.  I see gay, straight, republicans, democrats, teachers, lawyers, environmentalists, business owners, people from all walks of life and many different views of the problems that face us all working together to make the planet, their communities and their churches places of love, safety, justice, and inclusion.

The problem is we often work quietly in our communities.  We don’t push our faith on others.  We volunteer in libraries, schools and hospitals.  We give to support the United Way and attend fund raisers for the arts.  We stuff backpacks with food for hungry children and give liberally to food banks and aid for the disadvantaged.  Often those working beside us have no idea what church we belong to or what our spiritual beliefs may be.  This is sad because what would the general view of Christianity be if our views were as well know as Pat Robertson’s vitriol.

I think it is time we went public with our faith.  That we wear badges that say; I am “Episcopal” or “Lutheran” or when asked why we are there doing what we do, we learn to say simply because God “called me to love my neighbors”, or “work for the common good” or “make the world a happier more peaceful place”.  It is time we are open about the faith we share and the good our faith propels us to do.

I am politically a libertarian, religiously an Episcopalian.  I volunteer as a park trail maintainer.  I believe every person deserves health care. I think God called me through Christ but believe all religions have something of the truth to teach us.  I think support, encouragement and aid are a quicker road to peace and security than war.  I believe if I am tempted to bad behavior it says more about me that the other person. I support the legalization of same gender marriage.  I am pro life but don’t believe the government should restrict freedom of choice because government should not put restrictions on me that God does not.  And I am a Christian.

A very good read

I have spent the month mostly silent allowing the voices of others to break my personal monologue.  I have tried to listen to other melodies and dance to different tunes.  To hear other ideas and see other visions.  Here is one that not new but expressed very well.  

http://credoveni.wordpress.com/2011/09/21/our-people/

Become Informed on Climate Change

The following are books for those interested in knowing more about Climate Change and the natural and anthropogenic (human caused) processes involved in Global Warming.

Like anything that is important in our lives, understanding climate change requires study and that means we must use our time and energy to study the problem, its causes and its potential solutions.   Especially for a problem this large and complex, 15 second TV sound bites and the random ignorance of the guy in the coffee shop just don’t cut it.  Disagreement among scientists is not whether the earth is warming but over how much is caused by anthropogenic activities and what the future will hold for us if behaviors, particularly with the use of fossil fuels, are not changed.  The authors of the three books I am mentioning are all in agreement with the vast majority of all scientists that the earth is warming.

Each of the three books takes a different approach to the problem and is a valuable read.

“Storms of My Grandchildren” written by James Hansen, a climate scientist and environmental activist, who believes that the future in very bleak if we do not end our dependence on fossil fuels.  Dr. Hansen was arrested with about 140 others in Washington during a protest against the Keystone XL pipeline this past week.  In this book, Dr. Hansen does a thorough job of explaining the science behind Global Warming – What are green house gases?  How do they work in the atmosphere? and Why is there great concern about the future based on our knowledge of how the earth responded to changes in green house gases in the past?  It is a bit technical, but very understandable.

“Coming Climate Crisis?” written by Claire Parkinson, a climate scientist for NASA, also does a good job of explaining the science of climate change but also gives credence and time to those scientist who do not understand the climate situation to be as dire as some might think.  It is a measured presentation of the problem and solutions that some suggest is too measured and too willing to give credence to alternative positions but yet comes down strongly on the need for behavior change.  This book in worth the read because of Dr. Parkinson’s discussion of the scientific process and the suggestions that some are making for human intervention through climate engineering.

“Hot” written by Mark Hartsgaard a journalist and author who has studied Global Warming and Climate Change for many years.  He describes the science in a less technical manner than the other two authors I have mentioned but still does a good job of explaining the basics of the processes involved.  This book is a valuable read for his discussion of solutions that are being implemented in countries around the world and for his discussion of why realistic discussion of the problem and its solutions are made difficult in the political and social atmosphere of the United States.   Mr. Hartsgaard discusses adaptation or preparing for those climate changes that will probably happen even if we do change our behavior and mitigation of our behavior to avoid even greater changes in the future.

These authors do not completely agree with each other about the extent of the problem nor do they agree completely on the solutions but for the person who wants to be informed on climate change they are in my thinking essential reads.  Make up your own mind on the extent of the problem and the solutions, but be informed.  The time for ignorance and simplistic sound bites is long past if we want our children and grandchild to have any hope of a life similar in quality to our own.

You’ve got AGE. A good reason to be in community.

One of the best parts of being a pastor is the experience of becoming part of a family.  Since most parishes/churches in the USA are around 75 active members this is an opportunity that is freely available to pastors.  When the relationship is working well both the pastor and parishioners are learning, growing, being challenged, comfortable and uncomfortable.  I think it is a sign of personal and corporate health to be asking: “What is next?”; “What are we called to be and do next?”; “How can we be who we are and do what we do more effectively”.  Just as is being comfortable with things that are beyond our control is also a sign of health.

Lately my parish has been helping me to be comfortable with the physical and psychological challenges of aging.  This is something that is not easy to do.  As one parishioner often says, “Getting old isn’t for wimps.”  Aging has its physical challenges but it is surprising how quickly I have adapted to discomfort, humiliation and telling doctors and nurses things that I consider to be “too much information”.  For me the emotional and psychological challenges are more difficult.  But the key for me is community.  In this particular instance, my elders and peers are helping me to understand and accept these challenges.  Some with similar health problems have acted as teachers and guides.  Some have helped with humor like the woman who told me, “Oh, honey you just have “A…G…E”, then laughed and gave me a hug.  The most profound have been those I know that have suffered and are suffering with serious situations and yet they remain focused on others, upbeat, faithful, with an authenticity that does not deny the pain but acknowledges that there are things more important than personal emotional and physical discomfort.

These are those worthy of emulation, the imitation of whom brings greater happiness and joy of living.  These are the saints of God.  One of my great joys in being a member of a church all these years has been the opportunity to know “Saints”.  My life is better for it.