Monthly Archives: January 2018

The Urgent Mission

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A Sermon for 28 January 2018

A reading from the gospel of Mark 1:14-28.  Listen for God’s word to us as we hear how this gospel begins Jesus’ public ministry.

“Now after John was arrested, Jesus came to Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news.”   16 As Jesus passed along the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and his brother Andrew casting a net into the sea—for they were fishermen.  17 And Jesus said to them, “Follow me and I will make you fish for people.”  18 And immediately they left their nets and followed him.  19 As he went a little farther, he saw James son of Zebedee and his brother John, who were in their boat mending the nets.  20 Immediately he called them; and they left their father Zebedee in the boat with the hired men, and followed him.   21 They went to Capernaum; and when the sabbath came, he entered the synagogue and taught.  22 They were astounded at his teaching, for he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.  23 Just then there was in their synagogue a man with an unclean spirit, 24 and he cried out, “What have you to do with us, Jesus of Nazareth?  Have you come to destroy us?  I know who you are, the Holy One of God.”  25 But Jesus rebuked him, saying, “Be silent, and come out of him!”  26 And the unclean spirit, convulsing him and crying with a loud voice, came out of him.  27 They were all amazed, and they kept on asking one another, “What is this?  A new teaching—with authority!  He commands even the unclean spirits, and they obey him.”  28 At once his fame began to spread throughout the surrounding region of Galilee.”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God.

 

And he’s off!  That’s how the gospel of Mark begins!  I said last week that John’s gospel begins with signs of the wonderful abundant life God offers.  Well, Mark’s gospel seems more like a 100-yard dash for the Olympic gold!  No sooner is Jesus baptized in the waters of the Jordan, than he’s driven into the wilderness by the Spirit.  Undergoing his own forty-day transformation in the wild, Jesus shows up in Galilee with a message.  “The time is fulfilled,” he proclaims.  “The kingdom of God has come near; repent, and believe in the good news” (Mark 1:15).  Like Matthew, this is the gospel in which we have Jesus picking up his first disciples as he walked alongside the sea.  Immediate.  Immediate.  Immediate.  Words are heard.  Nets are dropped.  Lives are changed.  Even unclean spirits take their leave as Jesus goes into the synagogue at Capernaum to teach on the sabbath.  Without a moment to waste, now that time’s fulfilled; the writer of Mark even keeps from weighing down the story with a lot of details.  Lives are at stake.  The time for transformation has come.

We know a thing or two about hurry, thanks to our culture today.  Everywhere we look, we’re enticed to believe gratification should come instantly.  “Now, now, now” life taunts like a two-year-old toddler that will not be denied.  We want food fast.  Instant credit.  And access to whatever anyone is thinking right away!  . . .  Only, immediate doesn’t prevail in the gospel of Mark because Jesus is impatient.  Or even because readers have shorter attention spans than most do today.  One commentator writes that “Mark begins like an alarm clock, persistently declaring the time and demanding some response” (Feasting on the Word, Yr. B, Vol. 1; Ted A. Smith, p. 285).  The urgency in the gospel of Mark’s telling of Jesus’ story is for the purpose of change.  Repentance – now.  Turn from however else our lives might be wasted.  Turn to the ways of God’s kingdom today!

As portrayed in the gospel of Mark, it seems that Jesus understood that change requires urgency.  Harvard Business School Professor John Kotter, whose ideas on leading change regularly hit international bestseller lists; writes that “At the very beginning of an effort to make changes of any magnitude, if a sense of urgency is not high enough and complacency is not low enough, everything else becomes much more difficult” (Leading Change, John P. Kotter, chapter 3).  It’s inertia.  Newton’s laws of motion, that a body at rest tends to stay at rest.  And a body in motion, well:  watch out!  Urgency produces productivity, every great manager knows.  Once a body gets going, there’s no stopping it.  Be it in business.  At the gym after weeks of holiday feasting.  Or on the sabbath in the synagogue.  Change – the kinds of transformed lives Jesus seeks to create – requires a sense of now!  Get going today!  Why wait until tomorrow to begin living the ways of the new life?  . . .  Jesus’ first public words, according to the gospel of Mark indicate:  “the time has come!”  A major shift has taken place.  It’s time to get on board now!

It’s the difference between living lives that simply go through the motions and letting go of the routine to be open to whatever comes.  While there most certainly had to be those in Jesus’ ministry who were satisfied with the status quo of their lives, we don’t hear much of them.  O, we know of the rich young man of Mark chapter 10.  Remember him?  He wants to know how to gain life.  Only to be told to give what he has away so he might be able to follow freely. The gospel records:  “Walking away grieving.”  The young man’s complacency was too high.  His creature comforts too cherished to heed the call.  . . .  Contrast him with those men fishing the Sea of Galilee.  They had to let it all go too to follow.  To gain the new life of being a disciple of Christ.  Complacency low, they willingly left.  Ready to find new purpose in the daily cast for people.

I read a story once – years ago – about how Spirit works.  I think it was in one of my all-time favorite daily devotional books by Sarah Ban Breathnach.  It’s about the flash of insight.  The great idea that comes.  Only we have several excellent excuses why this just cannot be the path for us.  We second-guess.  And worry.  Wondering what everyone else might think.  We calculate if it really could work until, too settled in how it already is, we allow the moment to pass.  It’s said that Spirit weeps.  But does not rest.  For if we refuse Spirit’s inspiration, Spirit will move on, looking for the one who senses the importance of the opportunity.  The urgency of the call.  Searching the world to find who indeed will bring the seed into full-grown, abundant fruit.  . . .  “Execute or nothing,” an article on the Sense of Urgency reads.  “When you create a vision and cook up good ideas,” the article states, “you are left with two choices:  execution or nothing.”  It goes on to explain that “if you choose to execute, you will be forced to invest your own money with no guaranteed returns, work without pay, and worst of all, sacrifice time spent with family and friends.  However, you also will gain something that many people never find in their lifetime:  purpose.  Purpose . . . that makes you want to wake up in the mornings not because you have to, but rather because you have a purpose to carry out.  It’s . . . what fuels your dreams and empowers you to do better daily” (https://www.secretentourage.come/motivation/creating-a-sense-of-urgency/).

Maybe Jesus invited a hundred other men before those four at the Sea said yes.  The point is, this One from Nazareth knows the fulcrum has tipped.  The time has begun for his ministry of transforming lives for God.  As is recorded in the gospel of Luke, the prophets’ words have been fulfilled:  that the Spirit of the LORD God rests in him.  He has been anointed to bring good news to the poor.  Release to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind.  To let the oppressed go free.  To proclaim the year of the LORD’s favor (paraphrase of Luke 4:18-19).  . . .  Lives are at stake.  Jesus knows.  He senses the urgency.  He calls his church still, to do something about it now.  Not because we sense the urgency of our own survival.  After all, in word and deed; this One taught not self-preservation but self-emptying – the only way that leads to Life.  This One willingly, urgently gave of himself for the world; for he knows the need.  He sensed it in the hearts of ones wearily at work along the water.  He noticed it in the faces of wondering synagogue-listeners.  He sees it through our eyes everywhere we go today.  The time to do something about it – is now!

In the name of the life-giving Father, the life-redeeming Son, and the life-sustaining Spirit, Amen.

© Copyright JMN – 2018  (All rights reserved.)

God’s Abundance

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A Sermon for 21 January 2018 

A reading from the gospel of John 2:1-11.  Listen for God’s word to us as we hear of the gospel of John’s recording of Jesus’ first act upon his mission.

“On the third day there was a wedding in Cana of Galilee, and the mother of Jesus was there.  Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.  When the wine gave out, the mother of Jesus said to him, “They have no wine.”  And Jesus said to her, “Woman, what concern is that to you and to me?  My hour has not yet come.”  His mother said to the servants, “Do whatever he tells you.”  Now standing there were six stone water jars for the Jewish rites of purification, each holding twenty or thirty gallons.  Jesus said to them, “Fill the jars with water.”  And they filled them up to the brim.  He said to them, “Now draw some out, and take it to the chief steward.”  So they took it.  When the steward tasted the water that had become wine, and did not know where it came from (though the servants who had drawn the water knew), the steward called the bridegroom and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and then the inferior wine after the guests have become drunk.  But you have kept the good wine until now.”  Jesus did this, the first of his signs, in Cana of Galilee, and revealed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

 

I heard an incredible dream recently.  The main symbol in it was a table.  Now this wasn’t just an ordinary dining room table.  It was the largest buffet table one ever could imagine!  At least twelve feet wide and two or more lengths of this sanctuary long!  It was immense!  On it was every food conceivable.  All the delicacies to enjoy:  delicious-looking pastries, bountiful fruit, casseroles that smelled wonderful, and vegetable dishes that would make your mouth water just looking at them.  All this, in just the first few feet of the bountiful table which was centered in the middle of an elegant, open-air balcony where people of all kinds joyfully were milling about.  The occasion was Easter brunch.  The mood was festive.  Laughter and excitement and hope filled the air.  Families were all together.  Friends were enjoying the merriment of each other’s company.  Everyone had a spot somewhere at the sophisticated banquet.  In a word it was the picture of abundance!  Such an incredible dream!

We’re not sure what the room looked like in Cana of Galilee.  Though I’ve been to the church sanctuary erected over the spot believed to be the site, where the first sign of Jesus’ public ministry took place – at least according to the gospel of John.  We’re not even sure if the wedding reception was in a room or outside somewhere in the open-air on the land surrounding the bridegroom’s home.  What we do know is that after inviting a few men near Bethany to come and see, Jesus set out for the region of his home in Galilee.  Cana was a few miles northeast of Nazareth and it seemed Jesus’ family was present at the event.  . . .  The writer of John’s gospel makes some interesting decisions in telling the story of the One met in Jesus, the Christ.  From the start, reference is made to resurrection:  “On the third day,” chapter two begins in the gospel’s launch into Jesus’ public ministry.  Every reader of the gospel knows what else took place on the third day.  From the start, we’re supposed to hear the story of Jesus with resurrection in mind.  The whole point of this gospel is to embrace the gift of God’s promise.  The surprise of the Light that shines despite the darkness.  To welcome “What has come to being in him,” as John 1:4 states:  “Life!”  God’s promise for all: never-ending, abundant Life!

Interesting too, this gospel begins Jesus’ public ministry at a wedding.  Jesus and his first followers have been invited to a party:  a celebration to honor covenants made.  We’re again supposed to catch the deeper meaning of the ministry of the embodied Word beginning thus.  Long years the people of Israel were told by God’s prophets that God was like their groom – and a frustrated one at that, waiting for his bride to be faithful.  Remember the prophet Hosea?  Just to prove a point, God had him marry Gomer, a wife of whoredom to show metaphorically that God’s wife, Israel, had forsaken the sacred covenant.  In anger and hurt God declares to Hosea:  say to my people “she is not my wife, and I am not her husband” (Hosea 2:1-2).  The covenant has been defiled.  . . .  The metaphor has nothing to do with gender and everything to do with union.  The coming together of opposites to create a third.  Divine and human melding into one.  As is happening in the Word becoming flesh to dwell among us.  The Transcendent mingling with the stuff of Earth that both become something holy.  Something cherished.  Something new.  Indeed, a wedding in Cana is the perfect place for the embodied Word to begin revealing his glory.

Whether Jesus is goading his mother when she comes with the concern that the wine has run out, or if he’s not yet aware of his time; one thing is for sure.  Mother Mary knows the One who is present at the party.  After all, he grew in her very own womb.  She knows the Bridegroom, the true Host, has arrived.  The One who will attend to the needs of the guests.  For it was what he was born to do.  . . .  At her prodding, Jesus takes up his mother’s ministry of hospitality in signs that reveal the abundant goodness of the true Host.  The water becomes the very best wine – and an infinite amount at that.  Anywhere from 120-180 gallons of the finest wine anyone ever could imagine!  At last the prophesy of Isaiah is fulfilled that promised:  “You shall be called by a new name that the mouth of the LORD will give.  You shall be a crown of beauty in the hand of the LORD, and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.  You shall no more be termed Forsaken, and your land shall no more be termed Desolate; but you shall be called My Delight is in Her, and your land Married; for the LORD delights in you, and your land shall be married.  For as a young man marries a young woman, so shall your builder marry you, and as the bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so shall your God rejoice over you (Isaiah 62:2-5).  As promised, God’s blessing is upon the people.  A boundless sign shows it to be true.  . . .  Isn’t it beautiful?  Here at the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, as the story is told according to the gospel of John, we see the abundance of God.  Something like a bountiful table.  A never-ending cup.  Streams of mercy that overflow for all the world!

One theologian writes, and I quote, that:  “Christians ought to be celebrating constantly.  We ought to be preoccupied with parties, banquets, feasts, and merriment.  We ought to give ourselves over to veritable orgies of joy because we have been liberated from the fear of life and the fear of death.  We ought to attract people to the church quite literally,” he writes, “by the fun there is in being a Christian” (Robert Hotchkins, Feasting on the Word, Yr. C, Vol. 4, pp. 262,264).  . . .  Too many have been made to think it’s all about rigid rules, and buzz-kill sacrifices, and hiding any sense of enjoyment lest God or anyone else might be watching!  But that’s more like John the Baptist-kinda of faith, than Christ’s Cana-kind of grace.  As see in the One who stands as the sign that heaven and earth – Spirit and flesh have been wed.  The time for profuse joy and peace and hope has begun and is expected in us because of the bountiful nature of God!  The gracious invitation to the never-ending celebration from the true Host, who dreams for our lives to be as extravagantly generous as God.  As filled with eternal merriment thanks to the gift of everlasting, abundant life!

Brothers and sisters of Christ, as Cana teaches:  the abundant grace of God is here!  Let the party begin!

In the name of the life-giving Father, the life-redeeming Son, and the life-sustaining Spirit, Amen.

© Copyright JMN – 2018  (All rights reserved.)

Curiosity

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A Sermon for 14 January 2018 

A reading from the gospel of John 1:43-51.  Listen for God’s word to us.

“The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee.  He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.”  44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter.  45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him about whom Moses in the law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus son of Joseph from Nazareth.”  46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”  Philip said to him, “Come and see.”  47 When Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him, he said of him, “Here is truly an Israelite in whom there is no deceit!”  48 Nathanael asked him, “Where did you get to know me?”  Jesus answered, “I saw you under the fig tree before Philip called you.”  49 Nathanael replied, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God!  You are the King of Israel!”  50 Jesus answered, “Do you believe because I told you that I saw you under the fig tree?  You will see greater things than these.”  51 And he said to him, “Very truly, I tell you, you will see heaven opened and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of Man.’”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

 

I love that the first chapter of the gospel of John, unlike the other gospels, tells already of those who are curious.  Curious about One being hailed by John the Baptizer as The Lamb of God!  Curious about happenings that just might be, regardless of popular opinion.  Curious about One who simply invites, saying:  “Come and see.”

Who among us was taught at an early age to be curious?  Especially about matters so momentous as encounter with the Divine.  Movement of Spirit within.  Beholding the Wonder of the World?!!!  . . .  Curiosity is the foundation of intelligence – not to mention an aspect that leads one off onto an amazing adventure through life.  Consider a child who has inside the impetus to explore.  Wander.  Wonder.  Even if that child doesn’t do as well as another who has rote memorization down pat for school tests; the curious child has a better shot in life at things like critical thinking, complex intellectual abilities, pure self-assurance deep down in their guts which leads to one being able to live their own life – not just swallow lies as fact.  The curious child possesses the capacity truly to learn.  To decide his or her own truth.  To grow.  To become.

Despite the age-old adage that curiosity killed the cat, curiosity is one of the key ingredients to the life of discipleship.  Only one who is curious would be willing to heed when a man from Nazareth walks through the scene saying:  “Come see.”  Only one open to seek would be able to find where he was staying, as the gospel of John records in the part of the story right before Philip and Nathanael experience their own encounter.  Only one wondering if there might be something more than what other outer authorities say would be able to journey with a man whose words sound strangely authentic.

The gospel of John begins with the beautiful declaration about the pre-existent Word of God – calling all things into being.  Shining in the darkness.  Born into the world with flesh and blood and the ability to be among men, women, and children in ways not fully beheld before.  You might remember that the distinction between the Word and the man sent from God to make way for that word is woven together in the poetry of the gospel of John’s opening on the incarnation.  John the Baptist’s testimony picks up next – his tangle with the Lawkeepers being outlined from the beginning.  While he is surrounded by his disciples; the very next day, Jesus comes walking by.  . . .  Surely, the gospel of John makes a better theological claim than a geography lesson.  The places named as locations on particular days hardly make much sense, unless Jesus is enlisting recruits for an Israeli power walking club.  The story puts him first near Bethany outside Jerusalem.  A few days later heading north to Galilee, where on the third day he attended a wedding in Cana, then head northeast to Capernaum, only to return south the hundred miles – most likely on foot – back to Jerusalem as Passover draws near.  No birth narrative here.  No angels announcing and dreams convincing or shepherds and Eastern magi on bended knee.  No sooner does Jesus come walking by, than curious men – openminded men.  Seekers, we might call them today, catch wind of this One and willingly join an adventure.  They’re promised a path of witnessing.  Beholding the work of God’s Lamb.  Hooked, first Andrew and another inquire where he stays.  Andrew grabs his brother Simon whose name right away is changed to Peter, and before all’s said and done one named Philip will find his friend Nathanael, inviting him on the uncertain voyage as well.  Any perceived divide between heaven and earth is over, Jesus insists by his reference of the ladder climbed by angels from ancestor Jacob’s infamous dream.  In their midst stands the full encounter with God.  The Word en-fleshed to elicit response in the hearts of all who wonder.  . . .  Like the curious monkey named George in the children’s book series; the first few to be invited, seek.  And according to the gospel of John, that curious nature is essential in disciples of Christ.

After this service of worship, Hillwood’s Renewal Team will have its first meeting.  Pray for the five church members who set out today on this journey.  Commissioned this fall by the session – before we got all caught up on the events of Thanksgiving and Advent and Christmas, your Renewal Team has committed to taking key learnings from the Vital Signs report of Hillwood’s Church Assessment Tool to begin forging a new trail for this church’s future.  Your input on the Church Assessment Tool is telling a few of the first needed steps.  When I spent some time with those again this week, it struck me that four of the five top matters connect to curiosity.  They include:  individuals wanting to know their particular gifts for ministry.  Members accepting the responsibility of life-long spiritual formation.  Helping you each know you are called to God’s ministry as you venture forth in the world.  And providing a variety of experiences for you to deepen your knowledge and love of God.  It’s exciting to me that these emphases touch at least three of the six factors which make for vital congregations today:  life-long learning orientation, education and formation for complex lifestyles, and one that might require a little more courage for some of us:  flexibility – making changes needed for the current context with as much ease as humanly possible.  . . .  Certainly, the curious men who first came-long with Jesus have a word for us as we undertake the process today!

In the few short weeks between now and Lent, we’re going to learn more of what they saw as they came along.  We’ll hear the miraculous events they beheld.  We’ll get their reactions – even be told how slow some were to accept.  Our eyes remain ever on Jesus, God’s Lamb pointed out from the start by John the Baptist.  But the curious ones who would follow also can capture our hearts.  For if the first ones he came ‘round to invite were those open to the adventure of journey; certainly, he’s hoping for that very same curiosity in us today.  Willingness to see where he’ll take us.  Excitement that it’s larger than the way we already know.  Wonder at what could be, despite evidence that wants to conclude otherwise.  Perhaps curiosity can ignite in our spirits too.  So that we keep on – or begin for the very first time – awakening to Spirit’s lead.  Listening for what resonates within.  Walking with eyes wide-open to behold what we’ve never seen before.  With curiosity key to our being, ready to journey wherever he goes.

May it be so.

In the name of the life-giving Father, the life-redeeming Son, and the life-sustaining Spirit, Amen.

© Copyright JMN – 2018

The Importance of Knowing Your Name

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A Sermon for 7 January 2018 – Baptism of the Lord Sunday

A reading from the gospel of Mark 1:4-11.  Listen for God’s word to us.

“John the baptizer appeared in the wilderness, proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.  5And people from the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem were going out to him, and were baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.  6Now John was clothed with camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey.  7He proclaimed, “The one who is more powerful than I is coming after me; I am not worthy to stoop down and untie the thong of his sandals.  8I have baptized you with water; but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”  9In those days Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan.  10And just as he was coming up out of the water, he saw the heavens torn apart and the Spirit descending like a dove on him.  11And a voice came from heaven, ‘You are my Son, the Beloved; with you I am well pleased.’”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

 

Have you ever been to a naming ceremony?  We’ve heard of one these past few weeks in our Christmas readings.  The event is so matter-of-fact that after all the hype of the angels and shepherds and birth out back among the animals, the gospel of Luke simply records:  “After eight days had passed, it was time to circumcise the child; and he was called Jesus, the name given by the angel before he was conceived in the womb” (Luke 2:21).  One little verse, recorded only in one gospel; tells us Jesus’ parents observed his naming ceremony.

If you want to know what to expect today in a naming ceremony, just goggle it.  Reformjudaism.org includes Rabbi Karen Companez describing “What to Expect at a Baby Naming.”  Though the number of days after birth differ for little boys and little girls, you can expect a naming ceremony for a Reformed Jewish family to be held either in the baby’s home or at the synagogue.  The child receives a Hebrew name – the name they will be called at every major milestone of their lives.  From their first Consecration ceremony at the beginning of their religious education, at their coming-of-age bar or bat mitzvah, when they wed, when the are called upon in worship to read the Torah, and at last, when they die.  The Hebrew name given at their naming ceremony will be used at their funeral.  Then to be inscribed on their tombstone.  At a Reformed Jewish naming ceremony, parents typically explain why it is that name has been chosen for their child.  Blessings are said that remind all that this child has “entered into a brit, a covenant, with God.  . . .  The traditional wish is offered – that this child may grow into a life of study of Torah, of loving relationships, and the performance of good deeds” (https://reformjudaism.org/what-expect-baby-naming).

Hindu naming ceremonies are considered sacred and elaborately performed on the twelfth day after an infant’s birth.  For the first week-and-a-half of the baby’s life, no one but it’s mother and a helper – typically the mother’s mother – is allowed to touch the baby or mother.  After a ceremonial bath for both infant and mom, relatives are invited to the home.  In some Hindu cultures, the paternal aunt has the honor of naming her brother’s child.  After the mother “wets the head of the baby with drops of water as a symbol of purifying the child,” the auntie “whispers the newborn his or her name in the ear and then announces it to the gathered family and friends.”  After, in some Hindu communities, “the sacred fire is lighted and the priest chants sacred hymns to invoke the Gods in heaven to bless the child” (https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Naming_ceremony).  . . .  What beautiful rituals to welcome a new little one into the world!  To ensure that child and all who will surround his or her life know how special the little one is.  How cherished and honored and excited the whole community is to watch the life of that little newborn unfold – to become all that little one can be as a blessing to the world.  The naming ceremony tells all how important this child is for the life of the world.

If you were here last week, I asked you to bring a photo of yourself from your baptism – or the photo of another one you love on the day of their baptism.  I hope you did and that you take a good long look at it.  . . .  Today is the time in the liturgical calendar to remember what most likely was our equivalent naming ceremony:  our baptism.  . . .  Spiritual blogger and Millennial spokesperson Rachel Held Evans speaks of baptism as a naming ceremony.  In a Work of the People clip, which is a resource we’ve been using as part of our curriculum for Sunday School these past few weeks; she says:  “Baptism is a naming.  Naming someone a child of God.  Baptism acknowledges someone’s belovedness.  Jesus’ baptism was an acknowledgement of his eternal belovedness.  Baptism acknowledges our eternal belovedness too” (www.theworkofthepeople.com, “Baptism Named Beloved,” Rachel Held Evans).  In the baptismal liturgy, we renounce evil and its power in the world.  We’ll do so in our Reaffirmation of the Baptismal Covenant later in this service.  Rachel Held Evans makes sense of this renouncing by explaining that it is a “renunciation of all those competing voices that try to tell you who you are.”  She says:  “The world gives you names like screw-up, faker, fat, slut, addict.  In baptism you are named beloved.”  We are beloved, she explains.  And that’s enough!  “Baptism is a defiant thing to do,” she says, “because the world always will try to name us.  And in baptism we say:  ‘No!  My name is beloved!’  We are named by God and that is enough.  It’s good news!” (Ibid.)

It’s why we Presbyterians baptize publicly – at the time of worship, not in some separate private ceremony.  Whether a newborn baby, a pre-teen, or an adult; we declare as a community that the one to be baptized must know their name:  Child of the covenant, Beloved of God!  As we acknowledge the one being baptized’s name, we are charged likewise to remember our own baptisms and be grateful!  To call to mind our own name – beloved – lest the names of the world are left to resound in our heads.  We all are beloved!  And from the moment of our vows on, we resolve to live as those who know our own and show others’ their names too.

I love this day and I love that it falls so close to the beginning of each calendar year.  What better way to begin a new year than with this very important reminder?  And today, being that it’s a first Sunday of the month too; we’ll re-affirm the baptismal covenant, then move into the joyful feast of the people of God.  In the Lord’s Supper we’ll do what biblical scholar Walter Brueggemann calls a “regular re-performance of what we claim in baptism.”  We’ll partake of “concrete, tangible signs of the generosity of God” (www.theworkofthepeople.com, “Faithful Practices,” Walter Brueggemann).  We’ll eat of the food and drink of the cup that proclaims, in Brueggemann’s words, that we “belong to the narrative of Jesus and not the narrative” of the world (Ibid.).  We will taste and know our names:  beloved children of God who are “sealed as Christ’s own forever” (Ibid.).  . . .  It’s very good news!  News that changes how we understand ourselves, how we interact with our neighbors, and how we resolve to live our lives this day and forevermore!

Happy Baptism, brothers and sisters of Christ!  Come now, to the font.  Again, let us know our names!

© Copyright JMN – 2018  (All rights reserved.)

The Birth

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A Sermon for 31 December 2017 – First Sunday of Christmas

A reading from the gospel of Luke 2:22-40.  Listen for God’s word to us in this reading of Jesus’ first weeks.

“When the time came for their purification according to the law of Moses, they brought him up to Jerusalem to present him to the Lord 23 (as it is written in the law of the Lord, “Every firstborn male shall be designated as holy to the Lord”), 24 and they offered a sacrifice according to what is stated in the law of the Lord, “a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons.”  25 Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him.  26 It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah.  27 Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, 28 Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, 29 “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word; 30 for my eyes have seen your salvation, 31which you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, 32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel.”  33 And the child’s father and mother were amazed at what was being said about him. 34 Then Simeon blessed them and said to his mother Mary, “This child is destined for the falling and the rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed 35 so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed—and a sword will pierce your own soul too.”  36 There was also a prophet, Anna the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Asher.  She was of a great age, having lived with her husband seven years after her marriage, 37 then as a widow to the age of eighty-four.  She never left the temple but worshiped there with fasting and prayer night and day.  38 At that moment she came, and began to praise God and to speak about the child to all who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem.  39 When they had finished everything required by the law of the Lord, they returned to Galilee, to their own town of Nazareth.  40 The child grew and became strong, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him.”

This is the word of God for the people of God.  Thanks be to God!

 

The birth of a baby heralds hope!  Excitement fills the air!  A tiny, precious, helpless little one is born!  No one can resist the rejoicing; for, with this new life comes the chance for anything.  Press up close to the nursery window.  Scan the newborn crowd.  Look:  That may be the one to grow up to find the cure for cancer.  And her.  Perhaps she will move us closer toward world peace.  Oh, and how about that sweet one.  In this little darling lies the potential to do for the world whatever he desires.  . . .  Remember the last time you welcomed an infant into the world?  You stood there peering into that delicate, tiny face.  Saw the wee fingernails.  Felt the warmth of that little bundle.  In an instant, the child stole your heart away.  Oh, the birth of a baby resounds with rejoicing.  No matter the circumstances surrounding the child’s conception, whatever conditions will be this one’s reality; at least for a moment, all pause beholding the miracle.  We give thanks for such a perfect gift!

Today we give thanks for such a child.  The baby Jesus:  God come among us, putting on the flesh and bones of humanity, making a home with us in our circumstances – from the depths of despair to the pinnacles of praise.  Lying in that lowly manger is the infant God.  The teeny-tiny speck of light bursting into our darkness; the child given as our hope.  .He’s an ordinary little one with a future yet unknown to the world.  At the same time, he’s not quite an ordinary little one – unlike all the others.  Atypically, this one comes with a few instructions:  name him Jesus (which means literally he saves) for he will be the Savior of his people.  . . .  Don’t you wish you could get inside Mary’s mind?  What could she be thinking?  Every time she turns around, someone else is proclaiming her child’s greatness!  “He will be the Son of the Most High God,” announces the angel.  “And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his ancestor David.  He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end” (Luke 1:32-33).  Pride swells as Mary takes it all in.  She goes to visit her aging relative Elizabeth.  “Ho!  Blessed!  Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!  Leap for joy Mary; for within, you carry the miracle!” (Luke 1:42)  Face it – under such circumstances, there’s no way any of us could hold back a stunning smile. …   Sure, there’s no room in the inn.  The cave for the animals out back is all that’s available – which is far from the sterile walls of our delivery rooms.  But those shepherds:  “Good news.  Don’t be afraid.  Great joy for all people.  Born a Savior to you.  The long-awaited Messiah – God’s chosen one!  The LORD come to dwell among us!” (Luke 2:10-11).  Indeed, amazement fills the air!  “Born like every other baby is Mary’s little guy.  But certainly, unlike every other child.  Does she know?  The one she cradles at her breast is God’s Christ – the cure to creation’s ills!”  How can she contain herself?  Surrounded by all the hype, her heart had to race with great gladness!  At the shepherd’s declaration, the description from the gospel is that Mary:  “treasured all these words, pondering them in her heart.”  (Luke 2:19).

All this took place before she learned the hard lessons of motherhood.  The initial jubilation must have subsided a bit.  Some young mothers say, pretty much by the first night.  It’s coming.  For, son of the Most High or no, this kid’s diapers stink like rotting eggs, just as bad as the next.  And, of course, the angel didn’t mention the difficulties of breast feeding.  The 2am sleep interruptions.  What to do to stop the endless cry-fests.  After all:  the one Mary tends is the Word – the Word by which God declared in the beginning for all things to come into being.  The Word made flesh.  Powerful voice as all that, you gotta figure the kid’s got some lungs!  The greeting cards may portray an infant sweeter than the Gerber baby, but it’s quite possible that this one destined to shake things up through proclamation, probably began exercising his vocal cords at a wee age.  But before all that – before the truth of motherhood sank in, prior to Mary being taken over by the tiredness, she treasured every bit.  Riding the high of all the wonderful words regarding her precious package, clinging to the prophecies of greatness, Mary enters the Temple.  . . .  He’s the firstborn son.  And being devout Jews, Mary and Joseph desire to designate the infant as holy to the LORD.  It’s a big day for the family.  They probably primped him all pretty – the silky white gown, that sweet baby smell, little tufts of hair combed all smooth.  The precious child is paraded with humble pride.  You know how that is:  like when there’s a baptism.  It’s a big day.  The words ring in Mary’s mind:  “Greatness.  This child’s bound for greatness!”

In the Temple, the newlyweds are greeted by the righteous Simeon.  His whole life he’s been waiting – and you thought keeping your patience until Christmas so you could rip into those beautiful packages was tough!  Simeon has spent his life looking for the consolation of Israel.  He’s been awaiting restoration – perhaps expecting a return to Israel’s greatness.  His eyes have been scanning the scene, searching diligently for a bridge bringing the people back to God.  Then, at long last, he declares.  “my eyes see your salvation, Holy God!  Thanks be to You!”  As he praises, he takes the child in his arms.  “You, O LORD, have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and for glory to your people Israel!” (Luke 2:30-32).  Can you imagine Mary and Joseph standing in absolute splendor?  Never have two parents bubbled with greater joy.  “That’s my boy!” Joseph’s smile beams.  Mary murmurs, “Our delightful son!”  Simeon turns, lowering his voice to say:  “Mary, this child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel” (Luke 2:34).  “Greatness!”  Her thoughts are all wrapped in greatness, when Simeon delivers the shocking blow.  He will be a sign that will be opposed, so the inner thoughts of many are revealed.  And Mary, poor Mary, your own soul will be pierced as well.

How can such happiness, such hope, such rejoicing be dashed on jagged rocks so quickly?  Like parents receiving the horrible news of in-utero complications.  What begins as a mother riding high on the wave of life, ends with a stricken soul.  Young Mary quickly learns the definition of greatness according to God. . . . Oh, if you only will hold on, dear Mary!  If only you too will keep watch for God’s salvation.  Then with Simeon and the angel and all disciples-yet-to-be, your own sorrow will be turned to dancing.  Indeed, this child’s birth heralds hope!  For in the blink of an eye, the father of the child will begin the revolution.  Through death – his death:  resurrection!

We too come with rejoicing.  Ecstatic about the precious package delivered a night so very long ago.  But the excitement of the birth is only half the story.  The sword that pierces Mary’s, pokes our souls as well.  Rejoice today, believers!  But remember:  the child we celebrate is the child that calls us all to follow.  Life’s not fun and games for him – pretty ribbons and bows.  He was born to be opposed.  Those who’d rather set up road blocks on the pathway to God – piling on requirements, defining greatness with words like status, wealth, privilege.  Ones who’d rather live for themselves will hunt down dear baby Jesus.  The darkness will try to snuff out the Light.  . . .  So shall it be with those who slip on Christ’s sandals, seeking to follow in his steps.  . . .  The road will be treacherous.  Faithfulness will require courage.  . . .  But look!  My eyes can see God’s salvation!  The Way, which the LORD has prepared, in the presence of all peoples!  Look:  just beyond the cross.  Can you see it?  Do you know?  It’s a tomb, a grave.  And it is empty!

Glory be to God!  The baby King lives today and evermore!

In the name of the life-giving Father, the life-redeeming Son, and the life-sustaining Spirit, Amen.

© Copyright JMN – 2017  (All rights reserved.)